Assessment of the Effects of Induction Heating Induced-Healing on the Fracture Properties of Very Thin Asphalt Concrete

Self-healing by induction heating stands as a promising and sustainable technology for asphalt pavement maintenance applications. This study involves performing a series of test cycles, encompassing first SCB fracture testing on a waste steel fiber (WSF)-reinforced for an asphalt concrete for thin surface layers (BBTM) and asphalt concrete for binder layer (ACL), induction heating for healing, and subsequent second SCB fracture testing. The research aims to analyze how crack healing ability changes with a semi-circular bending (SCB) test before and after healing, considering the combination of BBTM and ACL with different WSF content. Based on the SCB test fractural parameters, the healing indexes (HI) are obtained through peak load (Fmax) and critical stress intensity factor (KIC). Additionally, the fracture parameter results obtained based on the amount of WSF in the BBTMs and ACLs are consistent with the results of the indirect tension to cylindrical specimen (IT-CY) test. Consequently, it was emphasized that asphalt mixtures containing WSF have the potential to heal cracks through induction heating, and the healing ability can be improved depending on the WSF content of the wearing and binder layer. In addition, it was shown that ACL and BBTM samples with higher stiffness values are much more difficult to heal in terms of Fmax and KIC.