The role of the filler in asphalt mixtures is particularly important because of its influence on mastic behaviour. The filler improves the resistance properties of bitumen against the action of traffic loads and temperature. However, the filler can also adversely affect bitumen in mastics excessively brittle and stiff due to inappropriate design. For these reasons, it is interesting to investigate the effect of filler type and content on mastic composition. This paper presents results from a strain sweep test applied to bituminous mastics prepared with different filler types and contents at several temperatures. The obtained stiffness modulus and failure strain results provide information to assess the fatigue behaviour of the analysed mastics.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

This paper presents a new direct tensile test to evaluate cracking resistance of asphalt concrete mixtures: the Fénix test. First, the literature on cracking factors and mechanisms of bituminous mixtures, as well as current tests to measure cracking properties, is reviewed. Next, the Fénix test is described, and some initial experimental results of the influence of variables, such as binder type and content and test temperature, are provided. Additionally, test repeatability and sensitivity are statistically analyzed. Correlations between parameters obtained by the Fénix test and the three-point bending beam fatigue test are also shown. Finally, the main conclusions of this work are summarized. These conclusions confirm that the Fénix test is a practical and efficient method for characterizing cracking behavior of asphalt concrete mixtures as far as the studied variables are concerned.