Acoustic Emission for Evaluating the Relative Performance of Asphalt Mixes Under Thermal

Acoustic Emission for Evaluating the Relative Performance of Asphalt Mixes under Thermal Loading Conditions

C. P. Valkering and D. J. Jongeneel

Abstract

Acoustic emission (AE) is the term normally applied to the generation and propagation of

transient strain waves in materials as they undergo deformation or fracture. AE monitoring has standard applications for various materials and particularly fiber-reinforced composites. Acoustic emissions are detected and are ascribed to defect initiation in the binder, which is brittle at low temperatures. The main report deals with experience with AE in temperature cycling tests on a given mix with binders of different types; the acoustic activity, i.e., the number of emissions detected with a given binder, is considered as a measure of the defect initiations in the mix and thus of the fracture potential of the mix.