Surface-Roughness-Induced Control of the Interfacial Failure Mode and Bonding Strength: Atomistic Case Study in an Asphalt–Aggregate System
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34, Issue 12
Abstract
The surface roughness prior to adhesive bonding plays an important role in enhancing the durability of composite materials. To obtain deep insight into the effect of aggregate surface roughness on the interfacial properties of the asphalt–aggregate system, molecular dynamics simulations were carried out. Different surface nanostructure patterns, including groove, grid, and pillar, were generated with predefined roughness ratios in both acidic mineral (quartz) and weak alkali mineral (calcite) models. The influences of surface nanostructure on interfacial interaction energy, tensile bond strength, and the interlocking effect were investigated. In general, the van der Waals energy dominates the interaction energy between asphalt and aggregate surfaces at a low roughness ratio, whereas electrostatic interaction dominates the interaction energy in surfaces at a high roughness ratio because of the unsaturated atoms introduced by the surface nanostructure. Moreover, the presence of surface nanostructures results in the adsorption of more asphalt chains, strengthening the interlocking effect. By increasing surface roughness, the interfacial failure mode under tensile stress gradually transfers from adhesive failure to cohesive failure. In light of the aforementioned observation, a schematic illustration of the bond strength along with surface roughness was obtained.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the first author upon reasonable request.
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Molecular models of asphalt binder, aggregate, and asphalt–aggregate interface.
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LAMMPS code for tensile simulation.
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Code for projected area calculation.
Acknowledgments
The work described in this paper is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51922079 and 61911530160), “Shuguang Program” supported by Shanghai Education Development Foundation and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (No. 21SG24), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.
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Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34 • Issue 12 • December 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Dec 7, 2021
Accepted: Apr 1, 2022
Published online: Sep 28, 2022
Published in print: Dec 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Feb 28, 2023
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