Cross-Functional Test to Explore the Determination Method of Meso-Parameters in the Discrete Element Model of Asphalt Mixtures.

Xingyu Yi,Haopeng Wang,Jun Yang,Huimin Chen,Zhiyun Tang,Houzhi Wang

doi:10.3390/ma14195786

Xingyu Yi, Haopeng Wang + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14195786

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Journal: Materials	Publication Date: Oct 3, 2021
Citations: 9	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Southeast University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Abstract

In order to obtain more accurate parameters required for the simulation of asphalt mixtures in the discrete element method (DEM), this study carried out a series of cross-functional asphalt mixture experiments to obtain the DEM simulation meso-parameters. By comparing the results of simulation and actual experiments, a method to obtain the meso-parameters of the DEM simulation was proposed. In this method, the numerical aggregate profile was obtained by X-ray CT scanning and the 3D aggregate model was reconstructed in MIMICS. The linear contact parameters of the aggregate and the Burgers model parameters of the asphalt mastic were obtained by nanoindentation technology. The parameters of the parallel bonding model between the aggregate and mastic were determined by the macroscopic tensile adhesion test and shear bond test. The results showed that the meso-parameters obtained by the macroscopic experiment provide a basis for the calibration of DEM parameters to a certain extent. The trends in simulation results are similar to the macro test results. Therefore, the newly proposed method is feasible.

Highlights

With the development of road engineering, various pavement materials and complex mechanical environments increase the difficulty of using traditional macro-mechanics tests to solve engineering problems
Particle flow code (PFC) simplifies the discrete element method (DEM) to study the mechanical behavior of granular materials from the perspective of the microstructure
Different contact models and corresponding meso-parameters should be appointed for different materials to achieve a relevant macro mechanical response

Summary

Introduction

With the development of road engineering, various pavement materials and complex mechanical environments increase the difficulty of using traditional macro-mechanics tests to solve engineering problems. Numerical simulation technology brings new prospects for solving complex engineering problems. The DEM calculation uses the time-stepping algorithm to apply the motion equation on each particle repeatedly. At the beginning of the time step, the force-displacement equations between particles and between particles and the wall are updated to analyze the motion and displacement of each particle in the system, as well as the interaction between them [2]. There is no clear mapping between the meso-parameters of the model and the macro mechanical parameters of the object, and the acquisition of accurate meso-parameters with reasonable experiments and calculation methods are the focal point of DEM simulation [3]

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