Rutting Prediction of Asphalt Mixtures Modified by Polypropylene Fibers via Repeated Creep Testing by Utilising Genetic Programming

Abstract

A novel application of genetic programming (GP) for modelling and presenting closed form solutions to the rutting prediction for polypropylene (PP) modified asphalt mixtures is investigated. Various PP fibers have been utilised for bitumen modification and repeated creep (RC) tests have been carried out. Marshall specimens, fabricated with multifilament 3 mm (M-03) type PP fibers at optimum bitumen content of 5% have been tested under different load values and patterns at 50 °C to investigate their rutting potential. It has been shown that the service lives of PP fiber-reinforced Marshall specimens are respectively longer than the control specimens under the same testing conditions (5 to 12 times). Input variables in the developed GP model use the physical properties of Marshall specimens such as PP type, specimen height, unit weight, voids in mineral aggregate, voids filled with asphalt, air voids, rest period and pulse counts. The performance of the accuracy of the proposed GP model is observed to be quite satisfactory. To obtain the main effects plot, detailed parametric studies have been performed. The presented closed form solution will also help further researchers willing to perform studies on the prediction of the rutting potential of asphalt without carrying out destructive tests for similar type of aggregate sources, bitumen, aggregate gradation, modification technique and laboratory conditions.