This document specifies the methods for characterising the fatigue of bituminous mixtures by alternative tests, including bending tests and direct and indirect tensile tests. The tests are performed on compacted bituminous material under a sinusoidal loading or other controlled loading, using different types of specimens and supports.
The procedure is used to rank bituminous mixtures on the basis of resistance to fatigue, as a guide to relative performance in the pavement, to obtain data for estimating the structural behaviour in the road and to judge test data according to specifications for bituminous mixtures.
Because this document does not impose a particular type of testing device, the precise choice of the test conditions depends on the possibilities and the working range of the used device. For the choice of specific test conditions, the requirements of the product standards for bituminous mixtures shall be respected. The applicability of this document is described in the product standards for bituminous mixtures. Results obtained from different test methods are not assured to be comparable.