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The fatigue behaviour of bituminous layers must be taken into account when dimensioning road structures and projecting streets. To satisfy this fatigue criterion, laboratory tests must be used to determine the material characteristics and fatigue life of bituminous mixtures. The aim of this article is to study the crack initiation stage using a specific laboratory test: the two-point constant strain bending fatigue test on trapezoidal specimens. The laboratory tests were carried out on three types of bituminous mixes used in the wearing course, each containing successively two different types of bitumen (one imported and one Romanian). The conclusions drawn from this article refer to the influence of mix type and bitumen on the characteristics obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the behavior of bituminous mixtures is a very old subject in the specialized literature, many specialists in the field trying to explain the causes of the degradations, considering different factors. The bituminous mixtures were initially used in the construction of road structures for roads, so that a few years ago they also started to be used in the road structures of airport surfaces. The subject of the current research study is a priority worldwide and contributes, through the obtained results, to the enrichment of knowledge regarding the behavior of airport bituminous mixtures. The complexity of this study was based on the multitude of laboratory tests carried out on the designed airport bituminous mixture, BBA 16, using complex modern and high-performance equipment and equipment that lead to the determination of the stiffness modulus at different temperatures and frequencies both on trapezoidal samples and on prismatic samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]