Virtual Fracture Test of Asphalt Mixture Based on Discrete Element Method

摘要

Fracture, as one of the critical pavement distresses, has been extensively studied by many researchers. The majority of previous fracture research studies were based on phenomenological approaches and fracture theory. To better understand asphalt mixture fracture behavior, micro-structural methods should be employed. In this paper, the asphalt mixture test samples with similar aggregate gradation and binder properties were fabricated and center-point beam fracture tests were carried out by the method of virtual fracture test. to evaluate the DEM model and validate the method of virtual fracture test, center-point beam bending tests were accomplished in laboratory. The test results indicated that the fracture intensity of asphalt mixtures predicted by DEM matched very well with the intensity obtained in laboratory. It was concluded that the microstructural numerical tests could be used as a supplemental tool to evaluate the asphalt mixture fracture properties.