Application of Digital Image Correlation (DIC) Method for Road Material Testing

The theoretical part of the paper presents the framework of the digital image correlation (DIC) method as well as its advantages and limitations. The DIC technique that can be used in static and fatigue tests is a non-contact, non-interferometric optical method for measuring the surface deformation of structural elements, and material samples. In the experimental part of the paper, the implementation of the DIC method for the selected laboratory tests of building materials is described. The results of the tests on the samples of the materials used in road construction, i.e., asphalt mixtures (HMA), stone, soil stabilized with a hydraulic binder, and geosynthetics are discussed. The conducted research pointed out the possibilities of using the DIC method to evaluate the deformation of road materials in laboratory tests, taking into account their specificity. The variety of samples of tested material allowed to indicate the areas in which the DIC method and the algorithms used to evaluate the results give a significant advantage compared to tensometric measurement methods.