Study on the Mechanical Damage Characteristics of Asphalt Concrete in the Spring Thawing Environment

Moisture damage under freeze-thaw cycles is one of several serious pavement distresses faced by the majority of transportation agencies. This phenomenon triggers several pavement distresses, thus necessitating pavement maintenance and rehabilitation, which costs the country billions of dollars. In this article, a freeze-soak-scour cycle test was designed to simulate the special environment of the spring thawing season, and the evolution of mechanical properties of the asphalt concrete (AC-16) was studied. Moreover, the influence of freezing, soaking, and scouring (i.e., three separate factors on the mechanical properties of AC-16) were discussed based on the gray relational degree theory. The results illustrated that the freeze factor had a more significant impact on the damage process of AC-16 compared with the soak and scour factor. Finally, the freeze-soak-scour damage model of AC-16 was established and the damage speed and damage degree of AC was quantified based on the logistic judgment model. The model parameter Amax has been used to evaluate the damage degree of the mechanical performance of the AC-16, and model parameter x0.5 has been used to evaluate the damage speed of the mechanical performance of the AC-16.