Basalt fiber has been widely used in asphalt mixture due to its excellent mechanical properties and good combination with asphalt. In order to systematically evaluate the enhancement effect of basalt fiber on the fatigue performance of the mixtures, gradations of Stone Mastic Asphalt and Superpave with different nominal maximum aggregate sizes, namely SMA-13, SUP-20 and SUP-25, were prepared, and a four-point bending beam fatigue test was adopted under the strain control mode. The fatigue damage mode was assessed based on the phenomenology theory, energy dissipation theory and change rate of dissipated energy. The results showed that basalt fiber could well increase the fatigue life of the mixtures. Basalt fiber could also increase the cumulative dissipated energy of the mixtures, and it was linearly correlated with the fatigue life in double logarithmic coordinates. In the meantime, adding basalt fiber could increase the change rate of dissipated energy of the mixtures. Furthermore, it is not appropriate to take the stiffness modulus declined to 50% of the original as the fatigue failure criterion of the mixture; this paper suggested that it is reasonable when the stiffness modulus was 15-25% that of the initial. These findings provide a theoretical basis for exploring the fatigue failure of asphalt pavements.
Keywords: asphalt mixture; basalt fiber; change rate of dissipated energy; cumulative dissipated energy; fatigue performance.