Investigation of the Influence of Intrusive Asphalt on Soil Cracking Behavior

In recent years, owing to the advancement of highway infrastructure, modified asphalt has been extensively employed in pavement engineering. Asphalt mixture will invade the soil under high‐temperature conditions, affecting soil cracking. Cracking characteristics caused by dryness of the mixed samples of modified asphalt and soil accounting for 0%, 2.5%, 5%, and 7.5% of the total weight were investigated in this paper. According to the water loss situation, the degree of cracking was determined. The crack development was quantitatively analyzed by digital image processing technology, so as to analyze the influence of modified asphalt on soil cracking under different contents. The results show that the soil was relatively better than the normal state. Under the same conditions, the moisture content of modified asphalt soil with 2.5%, 5%, and 7.5% increased by 30.17%, 63.49%, and 110.37% compared with that without modified asphalt. At the same time, due to its special bonding properties, it can effectively improve the cracking of soil. The cracking rate of modified asphalt soil with 2.5%, 5%, and 7.5% content is reduced by 11.58%, 20%, and 31.58%, respectively. The soil added with modified asphalt can effectively increase the total porosity of the soil, thus improving the ability of water absorption, and also can well inhibit the rate of soil evaporation and reduce cracking. Modified asphalt can be rationally applied not only to have soil mechanical properties improved but also to have waste asphalt utilized to reduce environmental pollution.