Analysis of the Evolution of the Dynamic Shear Modulus through the Different Levels of an Asphalt Material

The objective of this work is to present the results of a characterization at different levels of the linear viscoelastic properties of asphalt materials, under shear stress conditions. To meet this objective, materials were considered in four different analysis scales: i) asphalt binder, ii) ‘mastic’ (i.e. asphalt with mineral filler), iii) mortar or fine asphalt matrix (FAM; i.e. mixture of asphalt and fine granular material) and iv) asphalt mixture. While in the first three cases the rheological characterization was carried out using a rheometer, in the case of the asphalt mixture a new laboratory equipment called the Hollow Cylinder Tester for Asphalt Mixtures (HCT-AM) was used. The results suggested that it is possible to have experimental models to scale some of the properties of asphalt materials. In addition, it was shown that the HCT-AM equipment is a good alternative for characterizing the shear properties of asphalt mixtures.