Understanding Vibratory Asphalt Compaction by Numerical Simulation

Abstract

Asphalt compaction involves a reduction in the volume of hot mixture asphalt layer, which has been considered as one of the most important factors affecting the future mechanical performance of flexible pavement system. It should be the essential part of the intelligent asphalt compaction. So far, little research work has been reported on modeling vibratory asphalt compaction. In this paper, the underpinning principles of finite element for asphalt compaction simulation are briefly introduced. A three dimensional finite element model for vibratory asphalt compaction is presented. In order to predict spatial density, geometric nonlinearity capturing the configuration change is employed to simulate the compaction process. The low compressible hot mixture asphalt is modeled as rate dependent crushable foam model with volumetric hardening. Numerous simulations of vibratory asphalt compaction considering different compactor operations are conducted to understand their impacts on the compacted density.