ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: It has been observed by a number of researchers that hot-mix asphalt (HMA) can exhibit different material properties in tension and compression. The indirect tension (IDT) test is used to determine HMA properties at low temperatures (creep compliance) or low to high temperatures (resilient modulus). Analysis of IDT test results is performed using linear elastic theory which is not adequate to account for possible differences between tensile and compressive HMA properties. In this paper, the stress distribution in a bimodular IDT specimen is determined based on the Ambartsumyan model for different compressive to tensile modulus ratios. Results show that tensile stresses throughout the specimen decrease with increasing modulus ratio while compressive stresses increase near the loading diameter and decrease away from the loading diameter with respect to the traditional solution.
