3D Multiscale Modeling of Asphalt Pavement Responses under Coupled Temperature–Stress Fields
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 148, Issue 3
Abstract
This study proposed a three-dimensional (3D) multiscale modeling method to investigate the responses of asphalt pavement subjected to coupled temperature-stress fields. In this method, finite element models of asphalt pavement at two different scales, i.e., the macroscale (pavement level) and mesoscale (mixture level), were developed separately and connected through a two-way coupled approach, including a homogenization (upscaling) procedure and a mapping (downscaling) procedure. X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning technology was adopted to acquire realistic mesostructure images of asphalt concrete, and a digital image processing technology was employed to reconstruct its 3D mesoscale representative volume element model from these CT images. Both thermal and mechanical properties of asphalt concrete at the two scales were considered in the multiscale simulation. Also, actual climatic data sets, including air temperature history, solar radiation history, and mean wind speeds, were incorporated into the computation. The results showed that the developed multiscale method furnishes an in-depth insight into the thermomechanical behaviors of asphalt pavement at different length scales under both tire loading and realistic environmental factors. The consideration of coupled temperature-stress fields varying with time has a significant impact on the accurate determination of the critical responses within asphalt pavement. Because the developed method is capable of simultaneously taking into account multiple factors, including mixture component properties and mesostructures, pavement structures, tire loads, and climatic information, it can be expected to serve as a mechanistic tool for facilitating and enhancing the analysis and design of asphalt pavement.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some of the data generated or used in this study, including viscoelastic and thermal parameters, as well as temperature history data, are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This study was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51808098 and 51878122) and the Doctoral Start-up Foundation of Liaoning Province (2019-BS-048). Their support is gratefully acknowledged.
References
AASHTO. 2011. Standard method of test for determining dynamic modulus of hot-mix asphalt (HMA). Washington, DC: AASHTO.
Abu Al-Rub, R. K., T. You, E. A. Masad, and D. N. Little. 2011. “Mesomechanical modeling of the thermo-viscoelastic, thermo-viscoplastic, and thermo-viscodamage response of asphalt concrete.” Int. J. Adv. Eng. Sci. Appl. Math. 3: 14–33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12572-011-0028-9.
Allen, D. H., D. N. Little, R. F. Soares, and C. Berthelot. 2017. “Multi-scale computational model for design of flexible pavement—Part III: Two-way coupled multi-scaling.” Int. J. Pavement Eng. 18 (4): 335–348. https://doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2015.1066001.
ARA (Applied Research Associates), ERES Consultants Division. 2004. Guide for mechanistic-empirical design of new and rehabilitated pavement structures., ERES Consultants Division. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.
Buttlar, W. G., G. H. Paulino, and S. H. Song. 2006. “Application of graded finite elements for asphalt pavements.” J. Eng. Mech. 132 (3): 240–249.
Castillo, D., A. Gamez, and I. Al-Qadi. 2019. “Homogeneous versus heterogeneous response of a flexible pavement structure: Strain and domain analyses.” J. Eng. Mech. 145 (9): 04019068. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0001639.
Chen, J., H. Wang, H. Dan, and Y. Xie. 2018. “Random modeling of three-dimensional heterogeneous microstructure of asphalt concrete for mechanical analysis.” J. Eng. Mech. 144 (9): 04018083. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0001505.
Collop, A. C., A. T. Scarpas, C. Kasbergen, and A. de Bondt. 2003. “Development and finite element implementation of stress-dependent elastoviscoplastic constitutive model with damage for asphalt.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1832 (1): 96–104. https://doi.org/10.3141/1832-12.
Cui, B., X. Gu, D. Hu, and Q. Dong. 2020. “A multiphysics evaluation of the rejuvenator effects on aged asphalt using molecular dynamics simulations.” J. Cleaner Prod. 259 (Jun): 120629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120629.
Feyel, F. 1999. “Multiscale elastoviscoplastic analysis of composite structures.” Comput. Mater. Sci. 16 (1–4): 344–354. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0927-0256(99)00077-4.
Fish, J., G. J. Wagner, and S. Keten. 2021. “Mesoscopic and multiscale modelling in materials.” Nat. Mater. 20 (6): 774–786. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-00913-0.
Hou, T. Y., and X.-H. Wu. 1997. “A multiscale finite element method for elliptic problems in composite materials and porous media.” J. Comput. Phys. 134 (1): 169–189. https://doi.org/10.1006/jcph.1997.5682.
Hu, J., Z. Qian, D. Wang, and M. Oeser. 2015. “Influence of aggregate particles on mastic and air-voids in asphalt concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater. 93 (Sep): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.05.031.
Huang, Y. H. 2003. Pavement analysis and design. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Kim, Y.-R., J. E. S. Lutif, and D. H. Allen. 2009. “Determining representative volume elements of asphalt concrete mixtures without damage.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2127 (1): 52–59. https://doi.org/10.3141/2127-07.
Kim, Y.-R., J. E. S. L. Teixeira, S. R. Kommidi, D. N. Little, F. T. S. Aragao, L. Manrique-Sanchez, and F. V. Souza. 2021. “Rate-dependent fracture modeling of bituminous media using nonlinear viscoelastic cohesive zone with Gaussian damage function.” Comput.-Aided Civ. Infrastruct. Eng. 36 (11): 1365–1381. https://doi.org/10.1111/mice.12754.
Leng, Z., Z. Tan, P. Cao, and Y. Zhang. 2021. “An efficient model for predicting the dynamic performance of fine aggregate matrix.” Comput.-Aided Civ. Infrastruct. Eng. 36 (11): 1467–1479. https://doi.org/10.1111/mice.12706.
Liao, G., and X. Huang. 2014. Application of ABAQUS finite element software in Road Engineering. Nanjing, China: Southeast University Press.
Liu, Y., and Z. You. 2009. “Visualization and simulation of asphalt concrete with randomly generated three-dimensional models.” J. Comput. Civ. Eng. 23 (6): 340–347. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0887-3801(2009)23:6(340).
Luo, R., Z. Liu, T. Huang, and C. Tu. 2018. “Water vapor passing through asphalt mixtures under different relative humidity differentials.” Constr. Build. Mater. 165 (Mar): 920–930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.01.047.
Luo, X., H. Li, Y. Deng, and Y. Zhang. 2020. “Energy-based kinetics approach for coupled viscoplasticity and viscofracture of asphalt mixtures.” J. Eng. Mech. 146 (9): 04020100. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0001836.
Najmeddine, A., and M. Shakiba. 2021. “Micromechanical study of porosity effects on coupled moisture-mechanical responses of viscoelastic asphalt concrete.” J. Eng. Mech. 147 (9): 04021059. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0001969.
Omairey, E. L., F. Gu, and Y. Zhang. 2021. “An equation-based multiphysics modelling framework for oxidative ageing of asphalt pavements.” J. Cleaner Prod. 280 (Jan): 124401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124401.
Otsu, N. 1979. “A threshold selection method from gray-level histograms.” IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. 9 (1): 62–66. https://doi.org/10.1109/TSMC.1979.4310076.
Qu, J., and M. Cherkaoui. 2006. Fundamentals of micromechanics of solids. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Shakiba, M., A. Gamez, I. L. Al-Qadi, and D. N. Little. 2017. “Introducing realistic tire–pavement contact stresses into Pavement Analysis using nonlinear damage approach (PANDA).” Int. J. Pavement Eng. 18 (11): 1027–1038. https://doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2016.1141412.
Souza, F. V., and L. S. Castro. 2012. “Effect of temperature on the mechanical response of thermo-viscoelastic asphalt pavements.” Constr. Build. Mater. 30 (May): 574–582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.11.048.
Stoneham, A. M., and J. H. Harding. 2003. “Not too big, not too small: The appropriate scale.” Nat. Mater. 2 (2): 77–83. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat804.
Sun, Y., C. Du, H. Gong, Y. Li, and J. Chen. 2020a. “Effect of temperature field on damage initiation in asphalt pavement: A microstructure-based multiscale finite element method.” Mech. Mater. 144 (May): 103367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechmat.2020.103367.
Sun, Y., B. Huang, and J. Chen. 2015. “A unified procedure for rapidly determining asphalt concrete discrete relaxation and retardation spectra.” Constr. Build. Mater. 93 (Sep): 35–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.04.055.
Sun, Y., X. Wei, H. Gong, C. Du, W. Wang, and J. Chen. 2020b. “A two-dimensional random aggregate structure generation method: Determining effective thermo-mechanical properties of asphalt concrete.” Mech. Mater. 148 (Sep): 103510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechmat.2020.103510.
Thilakarathna, P. S. M., K. S. Kristombu Baduge, P. Mendis, V. Vimonsatit, and H. Lee. 2020. “Mesoscale modelling of concrete—A review of geometry generation, placing algorithms, constitutive relations and applications.” Eng. Fract. Mech. 231 (May): 106974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2020.106974.
Tschoegl, N. W. 1989. The phenomenological theory of linear viscoelastic behavior: An introduction. Berlin: Springer.
Wang, L. B., J. D. Frost, and N. Shashidhar. 2001. “Microstructure study of WesTrack mixes from X-ray tomography images.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1767 (1): 85–94. https://doi.org/10.3141/1767-11.
Wang, Z. M., A. K. H. Kwan, and H. C. Chan. 1999. “Mesoscopic study of concrete I: Generation of random aggregate structure and finite element mesh.” Comput. Struct. 70 (5): 533–544. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-7949(98)00177-1.
Wollny, I., F. Hartung, M. Kaliske, P. Liu, M. Oeser, D. Wang, G. Canon Falla, S. Leischner, and F. Wellner. 2020. “Coupling of microstructural and macrostructural computational approaches for asphalt pavements under rolling tire load.” Comput.-Aided Civ. Infrastruct. Eng. 35 (11): 1178–1193. https://doi.org/10.1111/mice.12535.
Xue, Q., L. Liu, Y. Zhao, Y.-J. Chen, and J.-S. Li. 2013. “Dynamic behavior of asphalt pavement structure under temperature-stress coupled loading.” Appl. Therm. Eng. 53 (1): 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2012.10.055.
Yip, S., and M. P. Short. 2013. “Multiscale materials modelling at the mesoscale.” Nat. Mater. 12 (9): 774–777. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3746.
You, T., R. K. A. Al-Rub, E. A. Masad, and D. N. Little. 2013. “Three-dimensional microstructural modeling of asphalt concrete by use of X-ray computed tomography.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2373 (1): 63–70. https://doi.org/10.3141/2373-07.
Zheng, Z., and X. Wei. 2021. “Mesoscopic models and numerical simulations of the temperature field and hydration degree in early-age concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater. 266 (Jan): 121001. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.121001.
Zhou, R., Z. Song, and Y. Lu. 2017. “3D mesoscale finite element modelling of concrete.” Comput. Struct. 192 (Nov): 96–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruc.2017.07.009.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 148 • Issue 3 • March 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 6, 2021
Accepted: Nov 30, 2021
Published online: Jan 13, 2022
Published in print: Mar 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Jun 13, 2022
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Cited by
- Xin Wei, Yiren Sun, Hongren Gong, Mingjun Hu, Yanqing Zhao, Jingyun Chen, Data-Mining Framework Integrating 3D Random Aggregate Method and Finite-Element Method for Mesoscopic Simulation of Asphalt Concrete, Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements, 10.1061/JPEODX.PVENG-1505, 150, 3, (2024).
- Xin Wei, Yiren Sun, Hongren Gong, Yuhua Li, Jingyun Chen, 3D Mesomechanical Simulation–Based Approach to Determining Representative Volume Element of Asphalt Concrete, Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements, 10.1061/JPEODX.PVENG-1396, 150, 1, (2024).
- Shaoquan Wang, Yingsong Li, Ziyao Wei, Ying Gao, Yanshun Jia, Manyu Liu, Zugang Zhang, Zhangwen Ou, Effects of Periodically Changing Temperatures on the Bond Interface between Crack Sealant and Repaired Pavement, Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements, 10.1061/JPEODX.PVENG-1248, 150, 1, (2024).
- Xin Wei, Yiren Sun, Hongren Gong, Yanqing Zhao, Mingjun Hu, Jingyun Chen, 2D Aggregate Gradation Conversion Framework Integrated with 3D Random Aggregate Method and Machine-Learning for Asphalt Concrete, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 10.1061/JMCEE7.MTENG-17430, 36, 5, (2024).
- Xin Wei, Yiren Sun, Hongren Gong, Jingyun Chen, Fast 3D Voronoi and Voxel–Based Mesostructure Modeling Method for Asphalt Concrete, Journal of Engineering Mechanics, 10.1061/JENMDT.EMENG-7109, 149, 9, (2023).
- Mingyang Gong, Jingyun Chen, Yiren Sun, Multiscale Finite-Element Analysis of Damage Behavior of Curved Ramp Bridge Deck Pavement Considering Tire–Bridge Interaction Effect, Journal of Engineering Mechanics, 10.1061/JENMDT.EMENG-6862, 149, 3, (2023).
- Mingyang Gong, Yiren Sun, Jingyun Chen, Numerical investigation on coupled thermo-mechanical critical response of curved ramp bridge deck pavement, Road Materials and Pavement Design, 10.1080/14680629.2022.2117067, (1-21), (2022).