Fast 3D Voronoi and Voxel–Based Mesostructure Modeling Method for Asphalt Concrete
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 149, Issue 9
Abstract
A fast three-dimensional (3D) Voronoi and voxel based mesostructure modeling method was proposed for asphalt concrete. This method combine the advantages of the Voronoi diagram, voxel meshing, and take-and-place techniques and can be divided into three stages. First, the specimen space was divided into Voronoi cells that provided clear boundaries for the aggregates to be generated. Then, the voxel model of the specimen space was established and the voxels within the Voronoi cells were regarded as the finite elements (FEs) of the aggregates via a voxel mapping process in the second stage. Both the space division process and the voxel mapping process were repeated until aggregates with a desired gradation were obtained. The last stage was to generate air voids by randomly deleting the asphalt mortar elements via a take-and-place strategy. The effectiveness of this method was validated by the complex modulus testing data of a real asphalt concrete. A common FE simulation workflow that generally separates the processes of establishing the geometry models and FE meshes was employed. The results showed that the proposed method only spent ten of seconds, less than 1% of the time required by the common workflow, to obtain the mesostructural FE models, but exhibited very similar mesomechanical results to those from the common method. Therefore, the proposed method enables a fast entry into the FE analysis stage and can be expected to be an efficient tool in simulating the mesomechanical behavior of asphalt concrete.
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Data Availability Statement
Some data generated or used in this study, including viscoelastic parameters and aggregate gradation data, is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This study was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51808098 and 51878122), the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province (2022-MS-140), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (DUT22JC22). Their support is gratefully acknowledged.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 149 • Issue 9 • September 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 6, 2022
Accepted: Apr 24, 2023
Published online: Jun 27, 2023
Published in print: Sep 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Nov 27, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Aggregates
- Asphalt concrete
- Composite materials
- Domain boundary
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Fiber reinforced composites
- Finite element method
- Geomatics
- Infrastructure
- Mapping
- Material mechanics
- Material properties
- Materials engineering
- Mathematics
- Mesh generation
- Methodology (by type)
- Models (by type)
- Numerical methods
- Numerical models
- Pavements
- Surveying methods
- Three-dimensional models
- Transportation engineering
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- 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).