The stiffness concept

Bitumen is a visco-elastic material and its

deformation under stress is a function of both
temperature and loading time.
At high temperatures or long loading times they
behave as viscous liquids, whilst at very low
temperatures or short loading times they behave
as elastic (brittle) solids.
The intermediate range of temperature and
loading times, more typical of conditions in
service, results in visco-elastic behaviour
 The stiffness concept

Thus, for bitumen the stiffness modulus:

S t ,T =
t ,T

The effect of changes in temperature and loading

time on the stiffness modulus of three different
bitumens is shown in Fig 5.8a, 5.8b, 5.8c.
The stiffness
concept
 Stiffness modulus of bitumen
The methods to measure the
stiffness modulus of bitumen are
based on shear deformation, as
shown in Fig 5.9.
The resistance to shear is
expressed in terms of the shear
modulus, G, defines as:

Shear stress
G= =
Shear strain
 Stiffness modulus of bitumen
The elastic modulus and shear modulus are related by
the equation:
E = 2(1 + )G
Where = Poissons ratio
The value of depends on the compressibility of the
material and may be assumed to be 0.5 for almost
incompressible pure bitumens, while values of <0.5 have
to be considered for asphalt mixes.
Thus we have:
E 3G
 Stiffness modulus of bitumen
Shear stress can be determined statically in a
creep test or dynamically by application of a
sinusoidal load.
In a creep test, the shear stress is applied from
the starting time of test.
In dynamic tests, the shear stress is usually
applied as a sinusoidal varying stress of
constant amplitude and fixed frequency.
The deformation of the material under test also
varies sinusoidally with the same frequency as
the applied stress (Fig 5.10)
Stiffness modulus of bitumen

The shear modulus, Gf at frequency f, is given

by the ratio of the amplitude of shear stress and
shear strain:

Gf = ( ) f

It follows that the stiffness modulus under dynamic
conditions is:
Sf 3Gf
Stiffness modulus of bitumen

Fig 5.10 shows the phase

difference, , between the
shear stress and shear strain.
This phase lag is a measure
of the degree of elasticity of
the bitumen under the test
conditions.
A purely elastic material would
not show any phase
difference between the stress
and strain, whereas a purely
viscous material there would
be a phase lag of 90 degrees
or a quarter cycle.
 Stiffness modulus of bitumen

With a visco-elastic material like bitumen, the phase lag

between stress and strain is between 0 90 degrees,
depending on type and grade of bitumen, temperature
and frequency.
Small phase angles are found at low temperature and
high frequency, and vice-versa, indicating that under
these conditions the bitumen approx respectively to
elastic and viscous behaviour.
 Stiffness modulus of bitumen
By combining creep tests with
dynamic tests, a wide range of
stiffness moduli and loading
times can be covered.
The stiffness modulus as a
function of loading time is
often represented in a graph
with log scales as in Fig. 5.11.
The asymptotes represent the
approximation of elastic and
viscous response at short and
long loading times
respectively.
 Stiffness modulus of bitumen
Measurements of the stiffness
as a function of loading time at
various temperatures result in a
graph like Fig. 5.12.
It appears that the stiffness-
loading time curves obtained at
different temperatures on one
grade of bitumen all have the
same shape, and if shifted
along the loading time axis
would coincide.
In this case, the bitumen is said
to be thermo-rheologically
simple.