VISCOELASTIC ANALYSIS OF DIAMETRAL COMPRESSION

OF ASPHALT CONCRETE

By W. Zhang; A. Drescher,l Member, ASCE, and D. E. Newcomb,3 Member, ASCE

ABSTRACT: The diametral compression of short cylinders is generally accepted as the convenient and accurate
test method for evaluating the mechanical properties of asphalt concrete mixtures. In particular, the test serves
to determine the relation between the stresses and strains, with the assumption that it can be quantified by the
elastic (resilient) modulus and Poisson's ratio. These parameters are used for both the asphalt concrete quality
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assessment and in elastic multilayer analytic or numerical predictions of pavement deflections. The elasticity-
based test analysis used in practice accounts for viscous effects that asphalt concrete displays at moderate and
elevated temperatures in a simplified fashion. The methodology presented in this paper incorporates the effect
of viscosity in a rigorous manner, by deriving a linear viscoelasticity-based solution. The solution makes use of
the elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle and Laplace and Fourier transforms; it is valid for any load
history. Specifically, expressions are derived, which relate the deformation of the cylinder and asphalt concrete
viscoelastic properties, e.g., creep compliance, complex modulus, phase angle, and so on. Such properties are
required for use with analytical or numerical viscoelastic models used for calculating stresses, strains, and
displacements in a pavement system (e.g., in modeling rutting). The solution is illustrated with results of tests
at room temperature carried out on one asphalt concrete mixture subjected to constant and pulse/rest load
histories. A reasonable level of qualitative and quantitative agreement between the predictions and experiments
was obtained.

INTRODUCTION Hondros (1959) demonstrated that the test also provides a

The design of flexible and rigid pavements is experiencing
a transition from empirical or semiempirical procedures to de-
sign methods based on continuum mechanics models. The use
of mechanics-based methods requires knowledge of material
properties characterizing their deformability, strength, and fa-
tigue. To determine these properties, tests are required that are
simple enough to find wide application, and that simulate the
conditions that exist in a pavement structure. In this paper,
attention is focused on one particular test that has been gen-
erally accepted as suitable for determining the mechanical
properties of asphalt concrete, namely, the diametral compres-
sion test.
The diametral compression test, also called the indirect ten-
sile test or Brazilian test, was developed independently in Bra-
zil and Japan in the 1940s. The test is done by applying a
compressive load to a cylindrical specimen through two dia-
metrally opposite, arc-shaped, rigid platens. The generalized
diametral compression test includes compression of cylinders
by three or four loads, and diametral compression of spheres,
squares, and cubes (Jaeger 1967). Interest in the diametral
compression test stems from the fact that for an elastic mate-
rial, the loading conditions, besides inducing compression,
produce a nearly uniform tensile stress over a significant por-
tion of the diametral plane containing the applied load. Be-
cause applying a compressive load is technically much easier
than tensile, the test became regarded as ideal for evaluating
the tensile properties of brittle materials such as rock, portland
cement concrete (Blakey and Beresford 1955; Thaulow 1957;
Berenbaum and Brodie 1959; Fairhurst 1964; Jaeger 1967),
agglomerates (Shinohara et al. 1982), as well as asphalt con-
crete (Livneh and Shklarsky 1962).
'Grad. Engr., Minnesota Dept. of Transp., St. Paul, MN 55109.
2Prof., Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
55455.
3Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
MN.
Note. Associate Editor: Robert Y. Liang. Discussion open until No-
vember I, 1997. To extend the closing date one month, a written request
must be filed with the ASCE Manager of Journals. The manuscript for
this paper was submitted for review and possible publication on October
16, 1995. This paper is part of the ]ourlUll of Engineering Mechanics,
Vol. 123. No.6, June, 1997. ©ASCE. ISSN 0733-9399/97/0006-0596-
0603/$4.00 + $.50 per page. Paper No. 11818.
596/ JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MECHANICS / JUNE 1997
simple and accurate means for determining elastic properties
of portland cement concrete. Extensive laboratory investiga-
tions conducted by Hadley et al. (1970), and the fact that a
portion of a pavement structure is under tension/compression,
validated and promoted wider use of the test for evaluating
the elastic properties of asphalt concrete (Schmidt 1972). As
asphalt concrete in pavement systems is exposed predomi-
nantly to traffic-induced repeated loads, appropriate test pro-
cedures are developed and routinely implemented in which the
specimens are subjected to pulse/rest cycles (Standard 1987;
SHRP 1993). The results of these tests are used to determine
the elastic parameters: Young's modulus E and Poisson's ratio
v. In the pavement literature, the term resilient modulus and
M R are traditionally used instead of Young's modulus and E.
Accordingly, the test is usually called the resilient modulus
test.
In applications to asphalt concrete, the elasticity-based in-
terpretation of the diametral compression test is deficient in
that it neglects the effect of viscosity that all bituminous ma-
terials display to a certain degree. The presence of viscosity
is noticeable at moderate temperatures and becomes dominant
at elevated temperatures. The American Society of Testing and
Materials (ASTM) test method (Standard 1987) and the Stra-
tegic Highway Research Program (SHRP) protocol (SHRP
1993) account for viscosity in a simplified fashion, by rec-
ommending evaluation not only of the modulus derived from
the pulse (instantaneous modulus), but also of the modulus
corresponding to the end of a rest period (total modulus). The
difference between these two moduli can be regarded as an
approximate measure of material viscosity. This paper ad-
dresses this issue more rigorously, namely, by first deriving an
analytic solution of the diametral compression test that incor-
porates the combined effect of elasticity and viscosity within
the framework of the theory of linear viscoelasticity. Although
the actual response of asphalt concrete may be nonlinear, in-
cluding plastic or viscoplastic effects, the solution presented
improves on present interpretations and may serve as a refer-
ence for more sophisticated analysis. In the following, the elas-
tic solution is discussed in detail; then using the elastic-vis-
coelastic correspondence principle the viscoelastic solution is
constructed for various load histories. This is done with the
help of the Laplace and Fourier integral transforms, which are
used to obtain expressions that can be directly used in specific

J. Eng. Mech., 1997, 123(6): 596-603

 load histories. The Laplace transfonn is convenient in analyz- ~ a) b)
ing creep tests, whereas the Fourier transfonn is suitable for p p
any periodic excitation, for instance, haversine load history.
The solution is illustrated with examples of diametral com-
pression tests conducted at room temperature, which demon- O",,(O,y)
strate that the presence of material viscosity, even though not
dominant, should be accounted for in data interpretation.

ELASTIC SOLUTION
y
The stress distribution inside a disc compressed by two dia- x x
metrally opposite loads was first considered by Hertz (1883).
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Later, similar results were presented by Michell (1900, 1902),

Timoshenko (1934), and Wright (1955), using different ap-
proaches. The solution most frequently used as the basis for c) d)
data interpretation is the solution given by Hondros (1959).

Stresses and Strains

Hondros's solution applies to the case of a cylinder of radius
R loaded by a unifonnly distributed radial pressure p over a
finite arc of the circumference with central angle 2a, and along
the total length L of the cylinder. In the data interpretation,
only the stresses acting along the centrally located x- and y-
axes are used, and they are given by
2P [
0 =-- (1 -
xZ)sin 2a
",(, ) 7TaL 1 + 2;tz cos 2a + r
CJ' X - (1 -
arctan - -
1 + xZ
Z
x tan a ) ] FIG. 1. Distributions of Dimensionless Stresses In Dlametral
Compression Test: (a) Stresses along x-Axis; (b) Stresses along
(la) y-Axis; (c) Influence of Platen Width a/2Rj (d) Influence of Pres-
sure Distribution

CJ'yy(x, 0) =- ::L L~ 12 ;z ~~:~a2: r + arctan G~ ;: tan a) ] evaluating the elastic parameters E and v. In principle, any
(lb) point along the x- and y-axes can be selected if strains Exx and

CJ'",(O, y) =7T2P
aL
[ (1 - yZ)sin 2a
2-z 2
1 - Y cos a + y
--4 -
(1 + yz
arctan --1
y
-z tan a
)]
Eyy corresponding to force P were detennined from displace-
ments measured in the vicinity of this point. However, the so-
evaluated E and v may not be representative for asphalt con-
(Ie) crete, as displacements vary nonhomogenously throughout the
2P [ (1 - yZ)sin 2a (1 specimen consisting of aggregate, asphalt, and voids, each dis-
+ yZ )]
CJ'yy(O,y) =- -7Ta
L 1 2-z 2
- y cos a + y
,.,4 + arctan --1Y
_ztana playing different defonnability characteristics. In fact, asphalt
concrete can be regarded as a homogenous material only on a
(ld) representative volume basis. It therefore becomes imperative,
CJ'xy(x, 0) = CJ'xy(O, y) =0 (le) and is employed in practice to measure the displacements over
sufficiently long sectors along the x- and y-axes.
where P = paL = magnitude of the applied force; and a = 2R In the following, a centrally located sector of the horizontal
sin a = width of the loading platen, x = x/R and y = y/R. x-axis of length 2mR, and a centrally located sector of the
Expressions (1) are valid for both plane stress and plane strain vertical y-axis of length 2nR are considered, where 0 < m, n
conditions, with the sign convention positive for tensile < 1. Then the change in length of these sectors, !!.UZmR and
stresses and strains. !!. V2nR, respectively, can be expressed as
Figs. l(a) and (b) show the distribution of nonnalized
stresses CT",(X, O)RLlP, CJ'yy(x, O)RLlP, ... , for one value of
nonnalized width of the loading strip al2R = 1/8. Along the !!.UZmR =i: £",(x,O)dx; !!.V2nR = i~R Eyy(O,y)dy (4a,b)
horizontal x-axis the horizontal stress is tensile and the vertical
stress is compressive. Along the vertical y-axis the vertical where!!' U2mR and!!' V2nR are positive when the sectors elongate.
stress is compressive whereas the horizontal stress changes With the help of (2) and (3), and the following dimensionless
from nearly constant tension in the central region to high com- factors (see Table 1):
pression near the loaded boundary.
The strains along the x- and y-axes are derived from II =~ fmR CJ'",(x, 0) dx; (5a,b)
Hooke's law which, for plane stress, yields

and for plane strain

1
Eyy=-(CJ'yy - vCJ'",)
E
(2a,b) I3=~ i:
-mR

CJ'",(O,y)dy;

relations (4) can be written as

(5e,d)

(3a) (6a,b)

for plane stress, and as

(3b)

!1U2mR =~ [IJ - vIz - v 2(I] + I z)] (7a)

Eqs. (2) or (3), supplemented by (1), can then be used for
JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MECHANICS / JUNE 1997/597

J. Eng. Mech., 1997, 123(6): 596-603

 TABLE 1. Values of Constants I All this points to the vicinity of the loading platens as
m, n I, I. I. I.
regions where the deviations from the expected distributions
(1 ) (2) (3) (4) (5) are most likely to occur (Sousa et al. 1991). This is reflected
in constants /3 and /. being very sensitive to the actual pressure
(a) al2R = 118
distribution along the interface and the contact width. It fol-
0.25 0.144357 -0.450802 0.155789 -0.488592 lows that relying on the measurement of change in length of
0.50 0.233936 -0.780056 0.307445 -1.069463 the whole vertical diameter of the specimen is most contro-
0.75 0.265925 -0.952670 0.430875 -1.934486
1.00 0.269895 -1.o00ooo -0.062745 -3.587913 versial, and may lead to inevitable errors in evaluating the
elastic parameters. This observation has triggered attempts to
(b) al2R = 1112
modify the existing standards and practice, and introduce
0.25 0.145731 -0.451662 0.157661 -0.490068 measuring the change in length of sectors shorter than the
0.50 0.235795 -0.780761 0.313458 -1.075558 diameter (Lytton et al. 1993; Zhang 1995).
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0.75 0.267801 -0.952866 0.455791 -1.969691

1.00 0.271760 -1.o00ooo -0.041736 -4.085948
VISCOELASTIC SOLUTION
(c) al2R = 11100
Viscoelastic Constitutive Equations
0.25 0.146809 -0.452338 0.159133 -0.491231
0.50 0.237250 -0.781312 0.318240 -1.080415 There are several equivalent formulations of the constitutive
0.75 0.269267 -0.953019 0.477140 -1.999690 equations of linear viscoelasticity. The formulation that ap-
1.00 0.273218 -1.o00ooo -0.004996 -6.750997
pears to be most favored by several researchers for analyzing
(d) al2R = 11500 uniaxial or triaxial compression tests makes use of convolution
0.25 0.146824 -0.452347 0.159154 -0.491248 integrals. The advantage of integral formulation lies in the fact
0.50 0.237270 -0.781320 0.318307 -1.080480 that no assumption must be made as to the number of discrete
0.75 0.269288 -0.953021 0.477452 -2.000130 elements and, consequently, as to the number of material con-
1.00 0.273239 -1.o00ooo -0.001000 -8.796230
stants that describe the material behavior in differential for-
mulation. Because the viscoelastic behavior of asphalt concrete
becomes much more pronounced in shear than in isotropic
(7b) stressing, it is warranted to describe the isotropic and devia-

for plane strain.

As the cylinders used in tests are usually short, (6) are taken eij(t) =
'i
toric response separately. This leads to the following equations

_~
aSij(T)
JAt - 'T) - - dT;
aT
E;;(t)
it
= _~
alJ"i(T)
Jv(t - T) - - d'T
a'T
as the basis for evaluating the elasticity-based parameters E
and v of asphalt concrete according to the ASTM method (9a,b)
(Standard 1987) and the SHRP protocol (SHRP 1993). In ex- or
plicit form, these parameters can be expressed as

i
t
aE;;(T)
P A.U2R lJ';;(t) = _~
Gv(t - 'T)--d'T
£=--(0.27 + v); v= -3.59-- - 0.27 (8a,b) aT
LA.U2R A. V2R (lOa,b)

and correspond to m = n = 1, a/2R = 1/8, with the term con-
taining /3 in (6b) neglected because of its small magnitude.
Solution Sensitivity
Hondros's solution for stresses applies to uniform radial
pressure and is independent of material constants. The only
geometrical factor is the normalized width of loading strip
a12R. Fig. l(c) depicts the effect of this factor on stresses
along the y-axis for al2R = 1/8, 1/12, and 1/500. It is seen
that this ratio affects the stress distribution near the loading
strip. The stresses along the x-axis remain essentially the same,
and the difference would not be discernible on the graph.
When a/2R tends to zero, Hondros' solution becomes the line-
load solution.
In the case of applying the load through stiff platens, higher
contact pressure is expected at the comers than in the middle.
This pressure distribution can be approximated by a set of
step-wise uniform distributions. The solution presented here
can then be used in conjunction with the principle of super-
position to arrive at results corresponding to nonuniform pres-
sure distributions. Fig. l(d) shows the resulting stress distri-
butions along the y-axis for the same total force P and different
contact pressure distributions characterized by the ratio Pa/PO'
The effect of nonuniform pressure manifests itself only in the
vicinity of the loading platens, whereas, as previously shown,
the stresses along the x-axis remain virtually the same; These
results are in agreement with the 81. Venant's principle, as well
as with the finite-element solution presented by Vinson (1989),
who also incorporated the presence of the contact shear
stresses.
5981 JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MECHANICS 1 JUNE 1997
where sij and eij = deviatoric stress and strain tensors; lJ'iI and
Eii= mean (tripled) stress and the volumetric strain; Jd(t) and
Jit) = deviatoric and volumetric creep compliances; and
Cit) and Cv(t) = deviatoric and volumetric relaxation moduli.
The description of a viscoelastic material by means of con-
volution integrals using creep compliances or relaxation mod-
uli applies, in principle, to any load (stress) or displacement
(strain) history. However, if the load or displacement history
is a single or a sum of oscillatory harmonic excitations with
the frequency w, which often occurs in pavements subjected
to traffic loads, it is more convenient to introduce complex
representation
=J:'(w)(s'j)oeiWI =[Jdl(w) + U d2(W)](sij)oe'W'
eij(t) (lla)
Ejj(t) =J~(w)(lJ';;)oe'W' =[JvJ(w) + Uv2(W)](lJ'u)oeiWI (lIb)
where J'1(w) and J~(w) = deviatoric and volumetric complex
compliances; Jdl(W) and Jv1(w) = their real; and J d2 (W) and
J v2 (w) = their imaginary parts. Alternatively
slit) =G:(w)(eij)oeiWI = [GJ1(w) + iGdw)](eij)oe'W' (l2a)
lJ'jj(t) =G~(W)(Ejj)oe'W' =[Gvl(w) + iGv2(w)](ejj)oeiW' (l2b)
where G:(w) and G~(w) = deviatoric and volumetric complex
moduli; Gdl(W) and Gul(w) = their real; and G d2 (W) and C.a(w)
=their imaginary parts, respectively. The subscript (0) denotes
the amplitude.
Stresses and Strains
One of the most powerful methods of solving viscoelastic
boundary-value problems is based on the so-called elastic-vis-

J. Eng. Mech., 1997, 123(6): 596-603

 coelastic correspondence principle (Alfrey 1944). The method TABLE 2. Values of Constants K
dwells on the similarity between the elastic solution and the m,n K, K2 K. K.
viscoelastic solution if the latter is transformed from the time (1 ) (2) (3) (4) (5)
domain to another domain by means, for example, of Laplace --"-'----"'-----'--'---
(a) al2R = 118
or Fourier integral transforms. This similarity implies that to
obtain a viscoelastic solution, an associated elastic solution can 0.25 0.246506 -0.102148 -0.377657 -0.110934
first be constructed in which the material parameters are re- 0.50 0.415976 -0.182040 -0.815457 -0.254006
0.75 0.454840 -0.228915 -1.433282 -0.501204
placed by appropriate transforms of viscoelastic parameters or 1.00 0.513263 -0.243368 -2.371027 -1.216886
functions. The actual viscoelastic solution then is obtained by
applying inverse integral transforms. The only limitation is (b) al2R = 1/12
that the boundaries along which the tractions and displace- 0.25 0.247708 -0.101977 -0.379266 -0.110802
ments are prescribed do not change with time. As the last 0.50 0.417451 -0.181655 -0.821524 -0.254033
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0.75 0.496156 -0.228355 -1.465058 -0.504633

requirement is satisfied in the diametral compression test, the 1.00 0.514507 -0.242747 -2.710053 -1.375895
elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle offers direct way
(c) al2R = 1/100
of constructing the viscoelastic solution.
In the case of the Laplace transform applied to the elastic 0.25 0.248652 -0.101843 -0.380532 -0.110699
solution, the elastic constants are replaced by 0.50 0.418604 -0.181354 -0.826357 -0.254059
0.75 0.497185 -0.227917 -1.492174 -0.507517
E 3 3sGAs)G v(s) 1.00 0.515479 -0.242261 -4.498999 -2.251998
(13a)
~ 2sJAs) + slv(s) = 2Gv(s) + GAs) (d) a/2R = 11500
0.25 0.248665 -0.101841 -0.380550 -0.110698
lAs) - l.(s) Gv(s) - Gd(s)
(13b) 0.50 0.418620 -0.181350 -0.826422 -0.254058
v ~ 2Jd(s) + Jv(s) = 2Gv(s) + Gd(s) 0.75 0.497199 -0.227911 -1.492571 -0.507559
1.00 0.515493 -0.242254 -5.863820 -2.932410
where the bar indicates a transform; and s = Laplace transform
variable. Likewise, if the Fourier transform is applied
2 1 1 1
3G:(w)G~(w)
E~ 3 = (14a)
K 1-
- - II - -
3
3 I2,' K 2 = 3'11 + 3'12 (18a,b)
2J:(w) + J~(w) 2G~(w) + G:(w)
2 1 1 1
J;(w) - J~(w) G~(w) - G:(w) K 3 = 3'14 - 3'13 ; K4 = -14 + -13 (18c,d)
v~ = (14b) 3 3
2J:(w) + J~(w) 2G~(w) + G:(w)
where frequency w = Fourier transform variable. The values of constants Kit K 2 , K 3 , and K 4 are given in Table
The basis for deriving expressions for stresses along the x- 2. The inverse transforms of (17) are

i' i'
and y-axes of a diametrically compressed cylinder for a vis-
coelastic material are (1). As these equations do not contain f1U2mR(t) =-K I aJd(T)
P(t - T) - - dT +-2
K aJ.(T
P(t - T) - - ) dT
L 0 aT L 0 aT
material constants E and v, they remain unchanged when sub-
jected to either Laplace or Fourier transforms and inverse KI K2
transforms. This means that the stresses are the same regard- + L Jd(O)P(t) + L J.(O)P(t)
(19a)
less whether the material is elastic or viscoelastic.

i' i'
This is not the case with strains and, consequently, with the
change in length !:I.U2mR and !:I.V2nR• Limiting the analysis to !:I.V2nR(t) =-KL3 aJd(T)
P(t - T) - - dT
aT
K
+-4
L
aJv(T)
P(t - T) - - dT
aT
the case of plane stress, (6) can be written as o o

!:I.U2mR(t)
P(t)
= EL (II - vI2 ); !:I. V2nR(t) = EL
P(t)
(14 - vI3 ) + l
K
JiO)P(t) +
K4
L J.(O)P(t)
(19b)
(15a,b) Eqs. (19) represent the viscoelastic solution for !:I.U2mR(t) and
with t in parentheses used to emphasize the variation of load !:I. V2nR(t) under any load history P(t). For example, in the case
and displacements with time. In the following, (15) are used of constant load history (creep test)
to derive the viscoelastic solutions by means of the Laplace pet) = PoH(t) (20)
and Fourier transforms in terms of appropriate compliances,
which are usually easier to determine experimentally than where Po = load amplitude; and H(t) = Heaviside's function,
moduli. Eqs. (19) yield

Viscoelastic Solution Using Laplace Transform

The Laplace transforms of (15) are
_ p(s) _ p(s)
f1U2mR(s) = EL (/1 - vI2 ); f1 V2nR(s) = EL (14 - vI3 )
(1OO,b)
Viscoelastic Solution Using Fourier Transform
Substituting (13) into (16) and rearranging, yields
In the case of harmonic excitation
- P(s) - p(s) -
f1U2mR(s) = K I L
sJd(s) + K2 L sJv(s) (17a) Pet) =Po(cos wt + j sin wt) (22)
- Pes) _ Pes) _ the Fourier transforms of (15) are
f1V2nR(s) =K L3 sJd(s) + K4 L sJv(s) (17b)
_ p(w)
where f1U2mR(w) = EL (II - vI2 ) (23a)

JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MECHANICS 1 JUNE 1997/599

J. Eng. Mech., 1997, 123(6): 596-603

 _ 1>(00) Marshall method was used for compaction. The specimens
;lV~oo) = EL (h - vI3 ) (23b) were tested in a hydraulic loading frame with a closed-loop
servo-control system, and loaded through rigid platens with
Substitution of (14) into (23) gives al2R = 1/S. The change in length of the whole horizontal
-
diameter (m = 1) was measured by means of a standard ex-
;lU2mR(oo) = K 1>(00)
L J:(oo) + K 2 1>(00)
1 L J~(oo) (240) tensometer, whereas the change in length of the central one
quarter of the vertical diameter (n = 0.25) required using a
- 1>(00) 1>(00) modified extensometer. These displacement measuring devices
;lV2n~oo) = K3 L J:(oo) + K4 L J~(oo) (24b) were accurate to at least :to.OOI mm according to the manu-
facturer. While accurate measurement of the vertical displace-
and Kh K 2 , K 3, and K4 are given by (18). The inverse trans- ment over the central portion of the specimen required special
forms of (24) are mounting, the magnitude of the vertical displacements actually
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proved to be only slightly lower than those of the horizontal

displacements measured over the whole diameter.
The results of two load histories are analyzed here: (I) con-
stant load (creep) history with Po = 550 N, and loading time
P(t) P(t)
;lV2nR(t) =K L3 J:(oo) + K4 L J~(oo) (25b) of 10 min followed by a lO-min rest period; and (2) pulse/rest
load history recommended by ASTM (Standard 1987) with a
Using the magnitudes of complex compliances given by haversine load pulse of amplitude Po = 1,500 Nand 0.1 s
duration followed by a rest period of 2.9, 1.9, or 0.9 s (pulse/
1J:(oo) I = V J~I(oo) + J~2(oo); IJ~(oo) I =v'J;I(oo) + J;2(oo) rest frequency of 0.33, 0.5, and 1 Hz). The constant load his-
(26a,b) tory was used to determine the deviatoric and volumetric creep
compliances, Jit) and J.(t). These were obtained from mea-
and the phase angles defined as sured ;lU2R and ;l VO.5R using (21) which, for m = 1 and n =
0.25, become
Moo) = arctan ( ~d;~~»); B.(oo) = arctan ( -~.;~~»)
L
(27a,b) JAt) = [0.745;lU2R(t) - 1.635;l VO.5R (t)] Po (29a)

the real and imaginary parts of ;lU2mR (t) and ;l V 2nR(t) are
J.(t) = -[3.44S;lVo.5R(t) + 2.537;lU2R(t)] PoL (29b)
;lU2mR1 (t) = K ~o 1J:(oo)lcos[oot -
1 Bd(oo)]
An example of the variation of ;lU2R and ;l V O•5R with time
shown in Fig. 2 indicates that the recoverable change in length
+ K2 ~o IJ~(oo)lcos[oot - B.(oo)]
(2Sa) on unloading is smaller than during the loading phase. This
means that the tested material does not satisfy the Boltzman
superposition principle valid for linear viscoelastic materials.
As discussed by Drescher et al. (1993), upon loading, plastic
strains develop in asphalt concrete, and their magnitude can
+ LI
K 2 Po J~(oo) Ism[oot
. - B.(oo)] be assessed as the difference between the creep strains (or
(2Sb) change in length) and recoverable strains; the latter strains then
represent the linearly viscoelastic response of the material.
;l V 2nR1 (t) =K 3 :0 IJ:(oo) Icos[oot - Bd(oo)] The deviatoric creep compliance, derived from the recov-
erable change in length ;lU2R and ;l V O.5R using (29a), was ap-
proximated by a power law
+ K4 ~o IJ~(oo)lcos[oot - B.(oo)]
(2Sc) (30)

;lV2nR2 (t) =K ~ IJ:(oo)lsin[oot -

3 Bd(oo)]
previously suggested for describing uniaxial creep response of
asphalt concrete by, for example, Drescher et al. (1993). The
following constants were found: A = 1.14 X 10- 3 lIMPa, B
+ K4 ~ IJ~(oo)lsin[oot - B,,(oo)]
(2Sd)
= 0.43, and C = 9.75 X 10- 5 lIMPa. Since the volumetric
0.20
ILLUSTRATIVE TESTS
This section presents examples that illustrate the applicabil- 0.15 ::::::::::::::::::::::::,"""',.,"
ity of the viscoelastic solutions derived in analyzing asphalt
concrete response in the diametral compression test. The abil- E
ity to determine viscoelastic properties from such a simple test §. 0.10
would allow engineers a means of obtaining realistic input <l
required for viscoelastic pavement models. The detailed de-
scription of the material used, test procedures, instrumentation, 0.05
and data analysis are presented in Zhang (1995) and will be
published elsewhere. In what follows, only a brief description
of the tests is presented. 0.00
The tests were conducted at room temperature on cylindrical 0 300 600 900 1200
specimens 100 mm in diameter and 63.3 mm in height. The t (llee)
aggregate was crushed granite and partly crushed gravel, the FIG. 2. Variation of Change In Length of Horizontal and Verti-
asphalt cement was an AC20 viscosity grade, and the standard cal Dlametral Sectors with Time In Creep Test

600 I JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MECHANICS I JUNE 1997

J. Eng. Mech., 1997, 123(6): 596-603

 creep compliance turned out to be nearly constant, a purely
elastic volumetric response was assumed for the tested asphalt
concrete with
J.(t) =D
where D = 1.57 X 10- 4 IIMPa.
To derive the creep compliances from the pulse/rest test
results, it is first necessary to approximate the load history by
a Fourier series of harmonic waveforms. It was found that for
an adequate description of the pulse/rest history, the number
of terms must be of the order of 30-40 which, in tum, leads
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differences eliminates most of the plastic contribution. This
approach resembles that used for evaluating the resilient mod-
ulus and the Poisson's ratio as specified in the SHRP protocol
(SHRP 1993). According to this procedure, the instantaneous
(31) and total resilient moduli are determined from (8a), where
tJ.U2R is not the total change in length but a difference between
its peak value and that corresponding to the end of the pulse,
or the end of the rest period, respectively, both averaged over
four cycles. This also applies to Poisson's ratio which, for m
= 1 and n = 0.25, can be found from
-0.49tJ.U2R - 0.27 tJ. VO.5R

to a large number of unknown amplitudes and phase angles to v= (32)

be determined in the data reduction process using (27) and 0.16tJ.U2R + tJ.VO.5R
(28). Because the required regression is nonlinear, it becomes Table 3 shows the instantaneous and total resilient moduli, EI
tedious and possibly inaccurate, and the derivation of the creep
and En and Poisson's ratios, VI and VT, determined from tests
compliances was not attempted. The creep compliances deter-
using (8a) and (32). It also shows the theoretically predicted
mined from the constant load tests were used instead to predict
values where tJ.U2R and tJ. VO.5R were calculated using (19), (30),
and compare with experiments the response of the material in
and (31). When compared with values determined from mea-
pulse/rest tests. Fig. 3 illustrates the predicted response in a
few cycles, whereas Fig. 4 is an example of the measured
response. Both diagrams show close qualitative agreement, 0.005
i.e., the measured response is delayed with respect to the load
history as the viscoelastic theory predicts; this cannot be de- 0.004
scribed by elasticity. However, direct quantitative comparison E
of Figs. 3 and 4 is meaningless, for the predicted response is
based on only the viscoelastic response whereas in actuality
plastic properties also contribute. In other words, the measured
-
E
~
0.003
0.002
response shown in Fig. 4 is the result not only of elastic and ~
viscous but also plastic properties of the material being dis- 0.001
regarded in the prediction based on the viscoelastic compli-
ances. 0.000
A quantitative comparison of the measured and predicted o 3 6 9 12 15
material response is possible if the presence of plastic contri-
bution in tJ.U2R and tJ. VO.~R can be eliminated. This can be done, 0.005
for example, by comparing not the total response but the dif-
ference in response on the pulse and rest cycle. Operating with 0.004
E
0.005

0.004
-E 0.003

0.002
E
-
E
~
0.003
0.002
0.001

0.000
~ o 3 6 9 12 15
0.001
t (sec)
0.000
o 3 6 9 12 15 FIG. 4. Variation of Change In Length of Horizontal and Verti-
cal Dlametral Sectors with Time In Pulse/Rest Test-Observed
Response
0.005

0.004 TABLE 3. Resilient Modulus and Poisson's Ratio

E Resilient Modulus Poisson's Ratio

-E 0.003

0.002
Frequency
f
(HZ)
E,
(MPa)
Er
(MPa) V, Vr
(1 ) (2) (3) (4) (5)
0.001 (a) Detennined from test"
0.33 4.527 3.505 0.282 0.290
0.000 0.5 4.520 3,479 0.272 0.273
1 4,622 3,514 0.275 0.273
o 3 6 9 12 15
(b) Predicted

t (sec) 0.33 3.767 3,028 0.275 0.289

0.5 3.761 3.048 0.272 0.287
FIG. 3. Variation of Change In Length of Horizontal and Verti- 1 3.779 3.098 0.268 0.284
cal Dlametral Sectors with Time In PulselRest Test-Predicted "Average result of five to six specimens.
Response

JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MECHANICS 1 JUNE 1997/601

J. Eng. Mech., 1997, 123(6): 596-603

 sured I:i.U2R and I:i. VO.~R' reasonable agreement is seen, partic-
ularly in the case of Poisson's ratio.
It should be stressed here, that this comparison by no means
implies that the resilient moduli and Poisson's ratios derived
from an elastic solution are accurate measures of asphalt con-
crete deformability properties. In fact, for a material whose
response is viscoelastic, the notion of resilient modulus and
Poisson's ratio as sole material parameters is conceptually in-
correct.
CONCLUSIONS
Hondros's (1959) elastic solution for the stresses and strains
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along the symmetry axes of a diametrically compressed short
cylinder by externally applied uniform pressure has been gen-
eralized for linearly viscoelastic materials. The solution has
been obtained by means of the elastic-viscoelastic correspon-
dence principle, and applies to any load history. A particular
form of the solution suitable for analyzing harmonic load his-
tories also has been derived. The stresses in a viscoelastic cyl-
inder are the same as in an elastic one, whereas the strains, or
the change in length of cylinder's diametral sectors, are func-
tions of load and time.
The solution presented can be used to evaluate the visco-
elastic properties of asphalt concrete such as, for example, the
deviatoric and volumetric creep or complex compliances,
which are required for inputs to viscoelastic pavement models.
This has been illustrated on creep tests conducted at room
temperature whose results were subsequently used to predict
the response of the material in a pulse/rest load histories quan-
tified by the resilient modulus and Poisson's ratio as defined
in the SHRP protocol (SHRP 1993) data reduction procedure.
Qualitatively, the viscoelastic solution seems to describe the
actual response well and quantitatively the agreement between
the prediction and experiments seems reasonable. In particular,
the viscoelastic solution predicts the observed delay in material
response to pulse/rest load history at room temperature which
cannot be described within the purely elastic model for the
material. Accordingly, the resilient moduli and Poisson's ratios
are not the accurate measures of the actual viscoelastic re-
sponse of asphalt concrete. These quantities should be re-
garded as valuable indices of overall material ability to deform
and for material quality assessment rather than as mechanical
parameters useful for predicting specific material response. For
example, they cannot be used for evaluating cumulative ma-
terial response to repeated or long-lasting loading conditions,
which is the case of analyzing rutting. However, more ex-
perimental validation of the solution, both in terms of the num-
ber of tests and the range of testing temperatures, needs to be
done in the future. The data interpretation technique presented
should be applicable over the range of nearly purely elastic to
nearly purely viscous material behavior with the temperature
change from well below freezing to hot summer conditions.
Although theoretically viable, the pulse/rest load history
seems unsuitable for a direct determination of the viscoelastic
properties of materials. This is because the data reduction pro-
cess requires a nonlinear regression algorithm with a high
number of unknowns when the pulse/rest load history is ap-
proximated by a Fourier series of harmonic loads. As dis-
cussed by Zhang (1995), a much simpler and more accurate
algorithm based on the solution presented can be derived for
a haversine load history, with results of test analysis to be
published elsewhere. A haversine test preserves the periodic
character of loading and is somewhat easier to program and
execute in most testing equipment than a pulse/rest period
scheme of loading.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The writers gratefully acknowledge financial support provided by the
Minnesota Department of Transportation.
6021 JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MECHANICS 1JUNE 1997
J. Eng. Mech., 1997, 123(6): 596-603
APPENDIX I. REFERENCES
Alfrey, T. (1944). "Non-homogenous stresses in visco-elastic media."
Quartly Appl. Math., 2, 113-119.
Berenbaum, R., and Brodie, I. (1959). "Measurement of the tensile
strength of brittle materials." British J. Appl. Phys., 10, 281- 286.
Blakey, F. A., and Beresford, F. D. (1955). "Tensile strains in concrete."
Rep. No. C2, 2-2, Div. of Build. Res., 15-31.
Drescher, A., Kim, Y., and Newcomb, D. E. (1993). "Permanent defor-
mation in asphalt concrete." J. of Mat. in Civ. Engrg., ASCE, 5(1),
112-128.
Fairhurst, C. (1964). "On the validity of the "Brazilian" test for brittle
materials." Int. J. of Rock Mech. and Min. Sci., I, 535-546.
Hadley, W. 0., Hudson, W. R., and Kennedy, T. W. (1970). "A method
of estimating tensile properties of materials tested in indirect tension."
Res. Rep. No. 98-7, Ctr. for Hwy. Res., Univ. of Texas.
Hertz, H. (1883). Z. Math. u. Phys., 28, 125 -13 I.
Hondros, G. (1959). "The evaluation of Poisson's ratio and the modulus
of materials of a low tensile resistance by the Brazilian (indirect tensile)
test with particular reference to concrete." Australian J. Appl. Sci.,
10(3), 243-268.
Jaeger, J. C. (1967). "Failure of rocks under tensile conditions." Int. J.
of Rock Mech. and Min. Sci., 4, 219-227.
Livneh, M., and Shklarsky, E. (1962). "The splitting test for determina-
tion of bituminous concrete strength." Proc., AAPT, Vol. 31,457 -476.
Lytton, R. L., Uzan, J., Fernando, E. G., Roque, R., Hiltunen, D., and
Stoffels, S. M. (1993). "Development and validation of performance
prediction models and specifications for asphalt binders and paving
mixes." SHRP-A-357.
Michell, J. H. (1900). "Elementary distribution of plane stress." Proc.,
London Math. Soc., Vol. 32, 35-61.
Michell, J. H. (1902). "The inversion of plane stress." Proc., London
Math. Soc., Vol. 34, 134-142.
Schmidt, R. J. (1972). "A practical method for measuring the resilient
modulus of asphalt-treated mixes." Hwy. Res. Rec. 404, Hwy. Res.
Board, 22-32.
Shinohura, K., Capes, C. E., and Fouda, A. E. (1982). "A theoretical
model of the effects of distributed loading on the tensile strength of
agglomerates as measured in the diametral compression test." Powder
Technol., Vol. 32, 163-171.
Sousa, J. B., Taylor, R., and Tanco, A. J. (1991). "Analysis of some
laboratory testing systems for asphalt-aggregate mixtures." Proc., 70th
Annu. Meeting of the Transp. Res. Board, Paper No. 910743, Transp.
Res. Board, Washington, D.C.
Standard test method for indirect tension test for resilient modulus test
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hocken, Pa.
Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP). (1993). "Resilient Mod-
ulus for Asphalt Concrete." SHRP Test Designation: AC07, Protocol:
P07.
Thaulow, S. (1957). "Tensile splitting test and high strength concrete test
cylinders." J. Am. Concr. Inst. Proc., 28(53), 699-707.
Vinson, T. S. (1989). "Fundamentals of resilient modulus testing." Proc.,
Workshop on Resilient Modulus Testing, State of the Practice, Oregon
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Wright, P. J. F. (1955). "Comments on an indirect tensile test for con-
crete." Mag. Concrete Res., 20, 87 -96.
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APPENDIX II. NOTATION
The following symbols are used in this paper:
A, B, C = constants;
a = width of loading strip;
ell = strain deviator;
m, n = pure numbers in 0- I range;
E = Young's modulus;
E[ = instantaneous resilient modulus;
ET =
total resilient modulus;
= stress deviator;
Slj
GAt) = deviatoric relaxation modulus;
Gv(t) = volumetric relaxation modulus;
G:(w) deviatoric complex modulus;
G~(w) = volumetric complex modulus;
Gd1(W) = real part of G;(w);
G d2(W) = imaginary part of G;(w);
 Gvl(w) = real part of G~(w); P = force;
G v2 (w) =
imaginary part of G~(w); p = pressure;
I .. ... , 14 = constants; R radius of cylinder;
JAt) = deviatoric creep compliance; $1} = stress deviator;
Jv(t) = volumetric creep compliance; x,y = cartesian coordinate system;
J;(w) = deviatoric complex compliance; ex = radial angle to loading strip;
J~(w) = volumetric complex compliance; Ell = volumetric strain;
J d1 (W) = real part of J;(w); v = Poisson's ratio;
Jdw) = imaginary part of J;'(w); VI = instantaneous Poisson's ratio;
J v1 (w) = real part of J~(w); VT = total Poisson's ratio;
J v2 (w) = imaginary part of J~(w); cr;;l3 mean stress; and
K..... , K 4 = constants; cru,crxy,cryy = normal and shear stresses in the x- and y-coordi-
L = length of cylinder; nate system.
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J. Eng. Mech., 1997, 123(6): 596-603