Virtual modeling of asphalt mixture beam using density and distributional controls of aggregate contact

Abstract

The characteristic indicators of aggregate contacts in asphalt mixtures, including the number, orientation, and area of contact regions, significantly affect skeleton morphology and mixture stability. To investigate the influence of indicators on mixture stability, structures with diverse characteristics of aggregate contacts are required. This study proposes an algorithm for the virtual modeling of asphalt mixture beams, which supports the density and distributional controls of aggregate contacts in the microstructure. The methodology comprises three main steps: (1) three-dimensional models of coarse aggregates conforming to the predefined gradation and volumetric content are randomly selected from a digital library of realistic aggregates, (2) contact relations of aggregates are established during the adaptive arrangement of aggregates in samples with prescribed control parameters of aggregate contact using self-developed codes, and (3) air voids are randomly scattered in the sample without overlapping aggregates according to the volumetric content of the air voids, and an asphalt mortar model is then constructed using Boolean operations. Four beam samples with different contact characteristics were obtained using the proposed method to conduct simulations of three-point bending tests. The number and spatial distribution of aggregate contacts in beam models are consistent with the prescribed parameters, showing the reliability of the proposed method for the control of aggregate contact in asphalt mixtures. A comprehensive comparison of the results of the laboratory test and simulations validates the ability of the digital beam to capture the macroscale response of asphalt mixtures. Furthermore, simulation results indicate that the sample with the greatest number and distribution uniformity of aggregate contacts has the largest peak strength and fracture energy, which is beneficial for the understanding of the relationship between the indicators of aggregate contacts and the rutting and fatigue resistance of mixtures.