A Unified Continuum Damage Mechanics Model for Predicting the Mechanical Response of Asphalt Mixtures and Pavements

Predicting the performance of asphalt pavements is a very challenging task due to the complex behavior of asphalt mixtures and the complex traffic and environmental loading condi- tions to which these pavements are subjected. In this paper, a unified continuum-based mecha- nistic model is presented and its effectiveness in predicting rutting and damage evolution in as- phalt pavements is demonstrated. The model couples the characterization of nonlinear viscoelastic, viscoplastic, and viscodamage behavior of asphalt mixtures. Due to the very high computational cost of predicting the rutting of asphalt pavements through conducting three- dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) simulations under many loading cycles, an effective and simple extrapolation technique is presented for predicting rutting based on conducting 3D FE simulations for a relatively small number of loading cycles and extending the analysis with two- dimensional (2D) FE simulations for very many loading cycles. Further, it is shown that the uni- fied continuum damage mechanics model presented herein can also be used in conducting novel 2D and 3D micromechanical simulations of asphalt mixtures where each constituent (e.g., aggre- gate, mastic) is modeled explicitly. Such micromechanical simulations can be used in guiding the material design of more rutting- and damage-resistant asphalt mixtures and pavements.

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