Standardization News

A proposed ASTM International standard will allow those in the road construction industry to extend the service life of asphalt mixtures by more accurately predicting and evaluating fatigue performance. ASTM’s road and pavement committee (D04) is developing the proposed standard.

 

According to ASTM International member M. Emin Kutay, the proposed standard (WK74054) will be used to assess the resistance of different types of asphalt mixtures to fatigue cracks, caused by trucks and heavy vehicles, to road surfaces. “Rate of growth of fatigue cracks depends on the temperature fluctuations and how fast vehicles move on pavements,” says Kutay, a professor in civil and environmental engineering department at Michigan State University. “This test and associated mathematical formulations allow determination of response of an asphalt mixture at infinite number of temperatures and load frequencies, by simply running few tests, greatly reducing testing time.”

 

Kutay also notes that the test described in the proposed standard will reliably assess the impact of using new and/or recycled materials on asphalt pavements, allowing for better management of roadway infrastructure. Transportation department engineers, county road departments, consultants, paving contractors, asphalt laboratories, and companies in the road construction industry will be the primary users of the proposed standard.

 

All interested parties are invited to participate in the development of the new standard. The committee is particularly interested in hearing ideas on how the methodology presented in the standard can be used on other materials.

 

ASTM welcomes participation in the development of its standards. Become a member of ASTM.

 

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