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Les chaussées à revêtement souple en béton bitumineux sont largement utilisées dans la construction routière. La conception de ces chaussées doit prendre en compte le comportement des matériaux utilisés, le chargement du trafic et les conditions climatiques.Dans les zones soumises au phénomène de gel, il est primordial de prendre en compte ce phénomène dans la conception des chaussées, leur maintenance et réhabilitation. En effet, ce phénomène peut causer de graves dommages aux chaussées, qui apparaissaient sous forme de fissures ou de déformations excessives. Le présent travail a pour but d’étudier le comportement des chaussées en béton bitumineux sous l’effet couplé du gel et du trafic :Le premier chapitre comporte une synthèse bibliographique des travaux réalisés sur le phénomène du gel-dégel dans les chaussées.Le second chapitre est consacré à la modélisation numérique du phénomène du gel dans les sols traités comme un milieu poreux tri-phasique. Il présente la formulation mathématique de ce problème couplé et sa résolution numérique à l’aide d’une modélisation par différences finies.Le dernier chapitre présente une analyse par éléments finis de la réponse mécanique d’une chaussée au phénomène du gel et du chargement du trafic. L’analyse est menée à l’aide d’une approche simplifiée qui comprend deux étapes: 1) elle consiste à résoudre le problème du gel à l’aide d’une modélisation par différences finies. 2) elle consiste dans la résolution, à l’aide de la méthode des éléments finis, d’un problème mécanique en prenant en compte les chargements d’origine mécanique et le champ de température déterminé d’après l’approche présentée dans le second chapitre. / Flexible asphalt pavements are widely used in road construction. The design of these roads must take into account the behavior of the materials, traffic loading and weather conditions. In areas subjected to the freezing phenomenon, it is essential to take this phenomenon into account in pavement design, maintenance and rehabilitation. In fact, it can cause significant damages to roads, which appear as cracks or excessive deformations. The present work aims at analysis of the behavior of asphalt pavements subjected both freezing and traffic : The first chapter includes a literature review of researches conducted on the phenomenon of freezing effects in pavements. The second chapter is dedicated to the numerical modeling of the freezing phenomenon in soils treated as a tri-phasic porous medium. It presents the mathematical formulation of the coupled problem and its numerical solution using the finite difference method.The final chapter presents a finite element analysis of the pavement mechanical response to the phenomenon of freezing and traffic loading. This analysis is performed with a simplified approach that includes two steps: 1) it concerns solving the problem of freezing using a finite difference modeling. 2) it consists of the resolution, by the finite element method, of a mechanical problem considering the mechanical loads and the temperature effect.

Research to improve the performance of asphalt mixtures through the addition of crumb rubber using the dry process has continued worldwide because of its potential as a recycling option for used tires. For decades, dry mixed rubberised asphalt mixtures have performed inconsistently in field trials and laboratory evaluations. However, current research has revealed that the performance of asphalt mixtures is highly dependent on the characteristics of its internal structure or phase constituents. A comprehensive methodology has been developed in this study to characterise the microstructural properties of dry mixed rubberised asphalt mixtures and correlate them with the mixtures' macroscopic response to compression and fatigue. The proposed methodology combines a non-destructive imaging technique; X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) and image processing and image analysis procedures to quantify the properties of air voids and cracks as well as the rubber distributions within the rubberised asphalt specimen. A gap graded mixture of Hot Rolled Asphalt (HRA60/20) containing different percentages and gradings of crumb rubber particles was compared to a conventional mixture (unmodified or control mix). The results showed that the addition of crumb rubber affects the formation and distribution of air voids in an asphalt mixture. Correlations between the internal structural damage parameters and the mechanical behaviour of the asphalt mixtures were unanimous in concurring that adding rubber improves a mixture resistance to fatigue failure. The modulus of the asphalt mixtures at peak stress under compression reduced when the rubber was introduced into the mixture although in contrast, the image analysis showed less fracture within the tested specimen in comparison to the control mix. The imaging procedures developed in this text are recommended as a guide to characterise the internal structure of rubberised asphalt mixtures.

This thesis investigates the use of Discrete Element Modelling (DEM) to simulate the elastic and viscoelastic deformation behaviour of an asphalt mixture. A numerical specimen preparation procedure has been developed to produce specimens with an isotropic stress and correct volumetrics. Stone mastic asphalt has been chosen in this project because of its high content of coarse aggregate and binder-rich mortar. A range of uniaxial compression tests have been undertaken in the laboratory under various loading speeds and stresses. The axial stress, axial strain and radial strain were recorded during the tests. The peak stress is found to be as a power-law function of the strain rates for the asphaltic material. Elastic contact properties have been used to investigate the effect of particle number and location, loading speed, normal and shear contact stiffness. The Poisson's ratio was found to increase with the ratio of normal to shear contact stiffness but was independent of the stiffnesses. The Young's modulus was found to be dependent on both normal and shear stiffnesses, in agreement with previous work on idealised asphalt mixtures. The Burger's model was introduced to give time-dependent stiffness for the viscoelastic modelling. The Burger's model was implemented to give moment and torsional resistance as well as in direct tension and compression. To reduce the computational time in the creep simulations, the effect of scaling both viscosities in the Burger's model to simulate a shorter time, have been investigated. The effects of each parameter on the deformation of asphalt mixture were also investigated. The stress-strain response for the laboratory tests and the simulations were recorded. The results show good agreement when the bond strengths in the model are made to be a function of strain rate for both constant strain rate and creep conditions. Both normal and Weibull distributions have been used for the bond strengths between the aggregate particles. The constant strain rate tests results were proved to be independent of the bond strength variability and position of particles, while the creep tests results were dependent on the hand strength variability and position of particles. This is in good agreement with experimental tests: different specimens at the same stress level gave variability in the creep behaviour, at higher stress levels. Bond breakages were recorded during the simulations to investigate the micromechanical deformation behaviour of asphalt mixtures. It was found that a well-defined rupture at higher stress levels coincided with the maximum rate of bond breakage. The modified Burger's model has therefore proven to be a useful tool in modelling the moment and torsional resistance at particle contacts in an asphalt mixtures, in order to correctly predict observed behaviour.

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Cette étude porte sur l'émulsification en continu du bitume à l'aide de mélangeurs statiques de type SMX, dans le domaine des émulsions concentrées, voire très concentrées. Ce travail suit une approche intégrant trois types de paramètres : procédé, formulation physico-chimique et composition, avec pour objectif ultime la maîtrise de la taille de gouttes. Il a été montré qu'une combinaison de fortes teneurs en bitume et de hautes températures d'émulsification favorisent l'obtention de très petites tailles de gouttes (diamètre médian inférieur ou égal à 1 µm). Cette observation contraste avec l'émulsification à forte teneur en phase dispersée en procédé discontinu. Ces résultats mettent en évidence une compétition entre les aspects énergétiques de l'émulsification et la formulation physico-chimique. Il a été mis en évidence, que lors de l'émulsification en continu à des fractions massiques en bitume supérieures à 90 %, la taille des gouttes n'est pas une fonction de l'énergie fournie mais que ce sont les paramètres de formulation qui contrôlent l'émulsification. Le suivi de la cinétique de l'émulsification et de la morphologie de l'émulsion au cours du processus d'émulsification a montré que le mécanisme d'émulsification à très fortes concentrations en bitume (90 % massique) passe par une étape d'inversion de phases catastrophique, suivie d'un affinage de l'émulsion dû aux effets de cisaillement et d'élongation lors de la phase finale de mélange. Une méthodologie basée sur une analogie de Poiseulle pour la mesure en ligne de la viscosité de procédé a été développée, permettant l'évaluation in-line du comportement rhéologique d'un fluide à travers des mesures de débit et de perte de charge / This work focuses on the continuous emulsification process (using SMX static mixers) of bitumen for concentrated and highly concentrated emulsions. This work uses an approach that integrates the process, the physic-chemical formulation and composition parameters, with the main objective of controlling the drop size of the emulsions. It was shown that the emulsification carried out at high bitumen concentrations and high temperatures favours the production of emulsions with very small droplets sizes (mean diameter ? 1 mm). This is in contrast with emulsification process in batch mode, in the same concentration and temperature conditions. These results demonstrate the competition between energy and physic-chemical formulation aspects. It was also revealed that when continuous emulsification is carried out at 90 % wt. of bitumen, droplet sizes are not a function of the energy provided and, hence, the emulsification process is controlled by the formulation parameters. Morphological analyzes, coupled with kinetics of emulsification obtained by in-situ monitoring of the viscosity, allowed the description of the mechanisms occurring during the emulsification at high internal phase ratio. It was possible to identify two principal steps in the mechanism: a catastrophic phase inversion followed by a droplet reduction by agitation, the largest size reduction being achieved thanks to the effects of shear and elongation in the static mixer. An inline process viscosity measurement methodology was developed. This methodology, based on a Poiseuille analogy, allows the evaluation of the rheological behavior of a fluid through flow rate and pressure drop measurements

M. Tech. (Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology), Vaal University of Technology) / Modified asphalt concrete is one of the important construction materials for flexible pavements. The addition of polymers and natural hydrocarbon modifiers to enhance the properties of asphalt concrete over a wide temperature range in paving applications has been the common practice. Currently these modified asphalt mixtures are relatively expensive. However, recycled polymers and rubber added to asphalt have also shown similar results in improving the performance of road pavements. In this study, an attempt has been made to use low density polyethylene (LDPE) obtained from plastic waste and crumb rubber obtained from worn out vehicle tyres. The aim was to optimise the proportions of LDPE in the bitumen binder using the ‘wet process’ and crumb rubber aggregates in the hot mix asphalt (HMA) using the ‘dry process’. The Marshall method of bituminous mix design was carried out for varying percentages of LDPE namely 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10% by weight of bitumen binder and 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% crumb rubber by volume of the mineral aggregates. The characteristics of bitumen modified with LDPE were evaluated. The modified asphalt mix was also evaluated to determine the different mix characteristics. The results from laboratory studies in terms of the rheological properties of the LDPE modified bitumen binder showed an increase in viscosity, softening point and stiffness of the binder. The optimum Marshall stability values for HMA mixtures containing 2% crumb rubber tyre and 4% LDPE were found to be 30% higher than the conventional asphalt concrete mix. The wheel tracking test done at 50ºC was 9.81mm rut depth showing a good rutting resistance of the optimized mixture compared to the conventional asphalt mixes. The Modified Lottman test gave a Tensile Strength Ratio value of 0.979 which indicates a low degree of moisture susceptibility of the modified asphalt mix. The above results showed improved properties of the asphalt mixture. The economic assessment done using the present worth of costs indicated a reduction in maintenance cost due to the extended service life of the modified asphalt pavement.