TY - JOUR
T1 - Importance of Heterogeneity in Asphalt Pavement Modeling
AU - Castillo, Daniel
AU - Al-Qadi, Imad
PY - 2018/5/26
Y1 - 2018/5/26
N2 - Common practice overlooks the highly heterogeneous nature of asphalt concrete (AC). Doing so equates to disregarding the effect of material properties’ spatial variability on the field behavior of AC mixtures. This paper presents an alternative computational approach to assess the effect of AC heterogeneity on the performance of a pavement structure. Using finite elements, a three-dimensional, flexible pavement structure is subjected to a moving load. Each time the structure is modeled, a unique internal distribution of mechanical properties is assigned to the AC layer. Thus, several simulations of the pavement structure are prepared, modeling a different AC layer each time. Two sets of pavement structures were simulated, considering mechanical properties of the AC layer as having two levels of variability (intermediate and high). The results present qualitative and quantitative estimates of the actual effect of material spatial variability (i.e., the heterogeneity of material properties) on the performance of a flexible pavement structure via strain analyses. The results also highlight the importance of consistency and quality in AC compaction.
AB - Common practice overlooks the highly heterogeneous nature of asphalt concrete (AC). Doing so equates to disregarding the effect of material properties’ spatial variability on the field behavior of AC mixtures. This paper presents an alternative computational approach to assess the effect of AC heterogeneity on the performance of a pavement structure. Using finite elements, a three-dimensional, flexible pavement structure is subjected to a moving load. Each time the structure is modeled, a unique internal distribution of mechanical properties is assigned to the AC layer. Thus, several simulations of the pavement structure are prepared, modeling a different AC layer each time. Two sets of pavement structures were simulated, considering mechanical properties of the AC layer as having two levels of variability (intermediate and high). The results present qualitative and quantitative estimates of the actual effect of material spatial variability (i.e., the heterogeneity of material properties) on the performance of a flexible pavement structure via strain analyses. The results also highlight the importance of consistency and quality in AC compaction.
UR - https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%29EM.1943-7889.0001488
U2 - 10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0001488
DO - 10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0001488
M3 - Article
SN - 0733-9399
VL - 144
JO - Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE
JF - Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE
IS - 8
ER -