A novel test specimen for investigating the mixed mode I+III fracture toughness of hot mix asphalt composites – Experimental and theoretical study
Asphalt concrete pavements containing top-down cracks can be subjected to combined opening-out of plane sliding (i.e. mixed mode I/III) deformations due to traffic loads. However, lack of a suitable laboratory test specimen for fracture toughness testing of asphalt composites under mixed mode I/III, is one of the main shortcomings of this field. Hence, a new and simple test configuration is proposed in this research for determining mixed mode I/III fracture toughness of these composite materials.(...)
