Advanced evaluation of asphalt mortar for induction healing purposes

Induction heating technique is an innovative asphalt pavement maintenance method that is applied to inductive asphalt concrete mixes in order to prevent the formation of macro-cracks by increasing locally the temperature of asphalt. The development of asphalt mixes with improved electrical and thermal properties is crucial in terms of producing induction healed mixes. This paper studies the induction healing capacity of asphalt mixes without aggregates as the part of asphalt concrete where inductive particles are dispersed notably contributing to the final response of asphalt pavements. Special attention was given to the characterization of inductive asphalt mixes using experimental techniques and numerical methods. The research reported in this paper is divided into two parts. In the first part, the impact of iron powder as filler-sized inductive particle on the rheological performance of asphalt-filler systems was studied. The mechanical response, the induction heating and healing capacity of asphalt mortar by adding iron powder and steel fibers was evaluated as well. In the second part, the utilization of advanced finite-element analyses for the assessment of the induction heating potential of inductive asphalt mortar with steel fibers are presented. The influential factors of induction mechanism in asphalt mixes are also described. The experimental and numerical findings of this research provided an optimization method for the design of induction healed asphalt concrete mixes and the development of necessary equipment that will enable the implementation of induction technology for healing of asphalt concrete mixes.