Dense-graded Asphalt Mixtures Research Articles

Laboratory performance of dense graded asphalt mixtures prepared using highly polymer modified binders containing corn oil as softening agent

• High Polymer Modified Asphalt (HPMA) with corn oil can resist short term aging. • Crack Propagation slows with HPMA and corn oil combination compared to Control. • Life Cycle Analysis shows the cost-effectiveness of the optimized combination of HPMA and Corn Oil. This study evaluated the impact of aging on High Polymer Modified Asphalt (HPMA) mixtures containing a softening agent (SA). The aging susceptibility was evaluated in terms of rutting, cracking, and durability. Four asphalt mixtures were prepared, one with PG 52–34 binder as control, and three others using modified PG 52–34 with varying dosages of Styrene Butadiene Styrene (SBS) and corn oil (SA). The tests performed to evaluate the impact of aging (short, long, extended long term) were the Dynamic Complex Modulus, Hamburg Wheel Tracking, Flow Number, Indirect Tension and semi-Circular Bend tests. Based on these testing results, SBS and SA increased the durability and rutting resistance of asphalt mixtures. Modified asphalt mixtures also showed better cracking resistance than the control mix (i.e. lowering of crack propagation). However, with aging, fatigue cracking performance diminished while remaining comparable to the control mix. A balanced dosage of SBS (7.5%) and SA (7%) led to the best improvement in durability, rutting, and short-term cracking performance.

Application of Balanced Mix Design Strategies to Missouri Dense-Graded Asphalt Mixtures

This study focused on the improvement or redesign of dense-graded mixtures in Missouri by applying various strategies typified by a balanced mix design (BMD) approach. Briefly, the BMD approach involves designing mixtures using appropriate thresholds of mixture performance tests to control major distresses. In this study, two existing dense-graded mixtures from Missouri were adopted with 33% binder replacement by recycled asphalt pavement (RAP). Appropriate thresholds from three commonly used cracking tests, namely the disk-shaped compact tension test, or DC(T), the Illinois Flexibility Index Test (I-FIT), and the indirect tensile asphalt cracking test (IDEAL-CT), were paired with the Hamburg wheel track test (HWTT) toward the improvement or rebalancing of mixes designed before the availability or specified use of these tests. Preliminary test results showed that the existing mix designs did not satisfy the cracking thresholds adopted in this study, and thus the following modifications were made to the mixtures: (a) replacing the base binder with a softer grade binder, (b) adding a rejuvenator, and (c) adding ground tire rubber (either 10% or 20% by weight of base binder). According to the results, modification with rubber and softer binder was the most efficient strategy for improving and balancing DC(T) fracture energy and HWTT performance. On the other hand, the use of a softer binder or rejuvenator led to the best success in meeting semicircular bend (SCB) (I-FIT) and IDEAL-CT test requirements in balance with HWTT requirements.

Dry Addition of Recycled Waste Polyethylene in Asphalt Mixtures: A Laboratory Study.

The circular use of resources (i.e., reuse and recycling of materials) aiming for zero waste is also gaining increasing attention in pavement engineering. In this regard, the possible use of waste plastics in asphalt materials is of strategic importance since a considerable amount of plastic waste from construction and demolition waste and municipal solid waste is generated every year. Given this background, this experimental study aimed to investigate the feasibility of recycling waste polyethylene (PE) into asphalt mixtures. For this purpose, the dry addition of plastic shreds was evaluated to overcome the drawbacks observed in a previous interlaboratory research on PE-modified bituminous binder (i.e., instability/inhomogeneity of blend as well as the need for PE grinding). A comparative laboratory study was carried out on dense graded asphalt mixtures containing different amounts of waste plastics (i.e., 0%, 0.25%, and 1.5% by weight of the mixture). The selected asphalt mixes were investigated in terms of workability, linear visco-elastic characteristics, stiffness, strength, resistance to permanent deformation, and moisture sensitivity. Overall, the experimental findings show that the mixes prepared with the dry addition of plastic wastes were able to guarantee almost the same workability and moisture resistance as the reference material while leading to enhanced performance in terms of stiffness and permanent deformation resistance, with better responses for the higher investigated PE dosage.

Development of an FEM-DEM Model to Investigate Preliminary Compaction of Asphalt Pavements

Variations in pavement density have been widely monitored and investigated, both in laboratory and in field experiments, since the compaction of pavement is so critical to its long-term performance quality. In contrast to field testing, laboratory tests are simpler to produce but less accurate. Destructive drilled samples are used to conduct field testing; however, they are limited in their ability to assess density information at specific areas. The use of computationally aided approaches, such as the Finite Element Method (FEM) and the Discrete Element Method (DEM), in research involving asphalt mixtures is increasing, since these methods simulate and evaluate the characteristics of asphalt mixtures at macroscopic and microscopic scales. Individual particle behavior at the microscopic level cannot be fully represented using the FEM alone, and the computing cost of utilizing the DEM approach alone is prohibitively high. The objective of this work is to simulate the pre-compaction process by using the coupled FEM-DEM approach. In order to investigate the impact of the asphalt mixtures’ gradation, a dense-graded asphalt mixture (AC 11) and a gap graded asphalt mixture (PA 11) were simulated. Different paving speeds (4, 5, and 6 m/min) were applied on the preliminary compaction model of AC 11 to study the effect of the paving speeds on the compaction process. By comparing the angular velocity, which worked as a reference of compaction quality, it was demonstrated that the grade AC 11 asphalt mixtures performed better in the preliminary compaction process compared to the grade PA 11 asphalt mixtures. Moreover, since it has an effect on compaction, paving speed was carefully monitored and kept within a reasonable range in order to maximize both pavement quality and project efficiency.

Laboratory Evaluation of the Properties of Dense Graded Asphalt Mixtures Containing Waste Glass Fibre and Crumb Rubber

Due to environmental issues and rising costs of construction materials, there is an increasing desire to use reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) material in road construction. However, using too much of this material may lead to impairment of fundamental properties of asphalt mix. Glass fibre material is a well-known modifier and could be used to compensate possible downgrade of properties. Research articles and theoretical material have shown that adding too much fibre glass reinforcement could cause damage to asphalt mixture. Therefore, in this research, reference mixture has been compared to three projected AC 11 surface mixtures with different amount of fibre glass. The same has been done to HMAC mixtures, but in this case, there is crumb rubber used as mixture modifier. Experimental part has shown that using fibre glass in asphalt mixtures for both construction layers may have positive influence on fundamental parameters of HMAC and AC asphalt mixes, which can be a good solvation for using waste glass fibre in road construction.

Evaluation of the impact factors on the leaching risk of steel slag and its asphalt mixture

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in steel slag asphalt mixtures. Steel slag has good mechanical properties, but there is a risk of leaching of heavy metal elements during the steel slag stockpiling process and after paving asphalt pavement. Therefore, this work firstly investigated the effect of different influencing factors on the leaching concentration of heavy metal elements during the steel slag stockpiling process and analyzed the leaching mechanism by microstructure. Then, the gray relational analysis method was adopted to compare the magnitude of the effects of asphalt type, grade type, binder content and temperature on the leaching concentration of heavy metal elements in steel slag asphalt mixes. The results showed that the leaching concentration of heavy metal elements from steel slag increased rapidly due to the acid rain effect. With the formation of CaSO4 crystals to fill the micro-pores on the steel slag surface, the leaching concentration of heavy metals slowed down. Cu is the element with the largest leaching risk coefficient. The increase of specific surface area and the decrease of pH value will increase the leaching risk of heavy metals in steel slag. The leaching risk of steel slag was significantly reduced after it was prepared into asphalt mixes. The main influencing factor for the leaching risk of heavy metal elements from steel slag asphalt mixes is the type of grading, the secondary factors are temperature and asphalt content. Considering the high temperature environment common in asphalt pavements during use, it is recommended to use dense-graded asphalt mixtures in areas of high temperatures.

Fatigue Properties of Aged Porous Asphalt Mixtures with an Epoxy Asphalt Binder

Porous asphalt pavement has been used for multiple purposes, but its large porosity makes it easy to age by long-term weathering conditions; this causes its premature failure through raveling, fatigue, and so forth. This study explored the fatigue performance of aged porous asphalt mixtures produced with epoxy asphalt binders. Gradations of three porous asphalt mixtures were first designed in the laboratory: (1) a porous asphalt mixture 13 with an epoxy asphalt binder (EPA-13); (2) a porous asphalt mixture 13 with a high-viscosity asphalt binder (HPA-13) as a control; and (3) a dense-graded asphalt mixture 13 with a high-viscosity asphalt binder (HDA-13) as another control. Then, fatigue tests were conducted under different strain levels on porous asphalt mixture samples before and after aging. In addition, the effect of loading sequence on fatigue was examined for samples under two-stage continuous loading conditions. The results showed the following three things. First, the use of epoxy asphalt binder can tremendously improve the fatigue resistance of porous mixtures. the fatigue life of EPA-13 was 2.0 to 4.5 times greater than that of HPA-13, depending on the strain level. Second, after long-term aging, the fatigue life of the EPA-13 subjected long-term aging decreased by 82.3%. The retention rate of the initial modulus was about 50%. The fatigue life of the weathered EPA-13 was still much better than that of the weathered HPA-13. Third, loading sequence had a remarkable influence on the damage accumulation of all mixtures discussed.

Investigation of average asphalt film thickness of dense graded asphalt mixtures with compaction effects

The asphalt mixtures with inadequate durability may become too lean, resulting in low rutting and fatigue resistance. The asphalt film thickness (AFT) has been used as a crucial property for the durability of asphalt mixtures. However, the relationship between AFT and volumetric properties is ambiguous with the absence of compaction effects in the standard film thickness equation. This study aims to investigate the relationship between AFT and volumetric properties of dense-graded asphalt mixtures with consideration of the compaction degree. The compaction-property-dependent (CPD) AFT model considering compaction effects was proposed and compared with the standard AFT equation. Then, asphalt mixtures with 112 different gradations were used to calculate the AFT with and without compaction effects. The relationship between new AFT and volumetric parameters (Pb, VMA, VFA, Vc, Vfine and Vfiller) was investigated by linear correlation analysis. After that, two regression models and a back-propagation (BP) neural network were used to predict the new AFT with volumetric parameters. By comparing the prediction accuracy of these models, a reasonable model with higher prediction accuracy was selected. Results show that the new AFT is 2% to 30% less than the AFT in the standard model, and the surface area of air void boundary has a negative effect on the new AFT. The correlation analysis indicates that the new AFT of dense-graded asphalt mixtures has a rough correlation with changes in VMA, binder content and VFA. The prediction accuracy of the BP neural network has the highest R-squared. The relative importance and sensitivity analysis of the BP neural network verified a relatively good relationship between VMA and new AFT. These findings can give a considerable interest for the tendency of using the new AFT to supplement the current specified VMA criteria.

The driving mechanism of cement hydrated products leaching on as-built cement concrete bridge deck pavements

Recently, a new distress type in as-built dense-graded asphalt concrete (DGAC) paved on concrete bridge decks, namely alkali leaching, has been detected in China. The water carries dissolved alkali ions from the cement concrete deck to the pavement surface and reacts with CO2 in the air to form whitish carbonate deposits. The “bottom-up” water transportation process in the presence of the natural environment without vehicle loading effect is a complicated problem. Thereby, scrutiny of the driving force of the “bottom-up” water transportation process in cement concrete bridge deck pavements (CCBDPs) plays a vital role in realizing the mechanism of alkali leaching. In the present study, three potential driving mechanisms that may cause this process are proposed and simulated in the laboratory, including water vapor diffusion under action of multiple temperatures and relative humidity (RH), capillary rise, and leaching water caused by variation of atmospheric pressure. The microstructure of alkali leaching samples cored from distress pavement is also carefully examined by X-ray CT. The obtained results show that the diffusion mass of water vapor demonstrates a rapid lessening with the reduction of the relative humidity differences. A highly linear correlation between the RH difference and the diffusion flux of the water vapor for different temperatures is also identified, indicating that the DGAC with various air voids follows Fick’s first law of diffusion. Further, capillary rise indeed occurs in the DGAC but does not contribute to the alkali leaching process. The pressure difference could continuously drive the leaching water to the surface of DGAC samples, and the critical pressure difference (0.3–0.7 kPa) would be generally less than the daily variation of the atmospheric pressure (approximately 0.8 kPa in weather alternate days). The quantitative analysis of the internal structure for alkali leaching cores also reveals that the distressed cores present relatively higher void ratios, especially for small volume and narrow pores. The entrapped air within unsaturated pores provides the precondition for water transport subjected to the atmospheric pressure differences. These findings contribute to the understanding of static moisture transportation in the dense-graded asphalt mixtures and clarify the main driving mechanism of moisture-induced alkali leaching on CCBDPs.

The mechanical response of dry-process polymer wastes modified asphalt under ageing and moisture damage

The use of waste polymers for modifying asphalt has remarkable environmental and economic advantages. However, limitation still exists in the resistance of these mixtures against moisture damage and ageing. This paper aims to explore the impact of ageing and moisture damage on the mechanical properties of modified asphalt mixtures with polymer wastes (plastic waste and crumb rubber). Asphalt mixtures designated asphalt concrete (AC14) were prepared using granite aggregate, 60/70 PEN asphalt, and filler (hydrated lime). The properties of indirect tensile strength, resilient modulus, dynamic creep, and rutting were calculated to examine the effect of short-, long-term ageing and moisture damage. The results of the mechanical tests for the modified mixtures were compared to the conventional dense-graded asphalt mixture. The findings showed that asphalt mixtures containing both polymers presented superior properties after short-term ageing. In contrast, long-term ageing has enhanced the control and plastic waste mixtures’ bonding properties while negatively impacting the rubberised asphalt. Long-term ageing has reduced the resistance of rubberised mixture against permanent deformation by about 33%. The moisture conditioning has significantly deteriorated the mixture’s resistance to cracking and permanent deformation, particularly for the control and rubberised mixtures. The modulus and rutting resistance of the asphalt mixtures modified by crumb rubber and waste plastic has decreased by up to 9% and 17% after moisture conditioning.

Fracture properties and potential of asphalt mixtures containing graphene oxide at low and intermediate temperatures

ABSTRACT This work aimed to investigate the fracture resistance of asphalt mixtures containing graphene oxide (GO) using fracture mechanics. Three dense-graded asphalt mixtures with 9.5, 13.2, and 16 mm nominal maximum aggregate size (NMAS) were modified with varying GO contents. Semi-circular bending (SCB) fracture tests were conducted to determine the fracture properties of the asphalt mixtures. Results showed that mode I fracture toughness (KIC) and fracture energy (Gf) at −20 °C, −10 °C, and 0 °C were significantly improved with the addition of GO. Likewise, increasing trends in J-integral were observed with increasing GO content at 0 °C, 10 °C, and 20 °C. The variations of the fracture mechanic parameters suggested that adding GO could help in enhancing the fracture performance at low and intermediate temperatures. The fracture properties showed a high dependency on test temperature. An increase in NMAS resulted in increased fracture strength of the mixtures. Additionally, a two-parameter Weibull distribution model was utilised to further investigate the fracture results. The fracture toughness of the asphalt mixtures was found to comply with the two-parameter Weibull distribution. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to develop prediction models for the fracture properties. The proposed models exhibited a high degree of correlation.

Effect of Glass Cullet Size and Hydrated Lime—Nanoclay Additives on the Mechanical Properties of Glassphalt Concrete

In this study, the use of glass waste as aggregate in asphalt mixtures was investigated. Maximum glass aggregate size options of 0.075, 2.00, 4.75 and 9.5 mm. were selected. Conventional bitumen, nanoclay-modified bitumen and hydrated lime-modified bitumen were used. Dense graded asphalt mixtures were designed according to the Marshall method. Mixtures were evaluated for low-temperature cracking, resistance to water damage, fatigue, and permanent deformation behavior with repeated creep, indirect tensile strength, indirect tensile fatigue, modified Lottman and Hamburg wheel tracking tests. Increasing glass aggregate size reduced the water damage resistance of asphalt mixtures because of the smooth surface of the glass particles and nanoclay and hydrated lime modification improved the mechanical properties of the asphalt mixtures. Using 2.00 mm sized maximum glass aggregate showed relatively less water damage and deformation properties due to higher internal friction which is due to the greater angularity of the glass particles. In addition, there was a significant correlation between repeated creep test, modified Lottman methods and Hamburg Wheel tracking test from the viewpoint of deformation and water damage assessments.

A triaxial linear viscoelastic characterization framework for asphalt concrete based on the 2S2P1D model

Asphalt concrete materials are known to exhibit pressure dependence in response to mechanical loading. However, for conventional dense-graded asphalt mixtures, only weak pressure sensitivity was noted in the relaxation spectrum, time-temperature shift factors, and low-temperature moduli. Given these facts, a triaxial linear viscoelastic characterization framework was developed, which consisted of a convenient experimental protocol for the confined dynamic modulus test and a modeling approach based on the 2S2P1D model. In this framework, the same relaxation spectrum and time-temperature equivalence were applied across all different confining conditions, while the pressure dependence was fully assigned to the equilibrium modulus. The resultant prediction errors in dynamic modulus were in general below or comparable to typical test variability. Numerical implementation of the modeling method in the time domain was accomplished via Prony discretization of the continuous relaxation spectrum, and was demonstrated via application to triaxial relaxation and creep data. The model's satisfactory performance suggested that the confining condition had an insignificant impact on the molecular processes occurring in the asphalt phase during relaxation, owing to the low aggregate mobility and thus minimal asphalt flow as restrained by the dense structure. Limitations of the proposed modeling scheme as well as methods available from the literature were revealed lastly upon asphalt concrete materials with unconventional gap and open gradations.

A laboratory investigation on thermal properties of virgin and aged asphalt mixture

In this paper, the thermal properties of three dense graded asphalt mixtures, 20 mm DBM, AC 14, and AC 6, are presented. Density and air voids of the compacted specimens are also shown. Thermal conductivity was measured in the laboratory for non-aged, short-term aged and long-term aged asphalt mixtures at three different temperatures 19 (±1) oC, 65 (±5) oC, and 80 (±5) oC. Specific heat capacity and thermal diffusivity were calculated from equations derived from the literature. Heat penetration depth was also calculated and shows the heat from the thermal conductivity instrument heat source that dissipates into the asphalt specimens. The results were analysed to determine the effect of air voids content, transient line source (TLS) method, temperature and aggregate size in thermal conductivity and the effect of aging on the thermal properties of the asphalt mixtures studied. It was concluded that there is a minimal effect in thermal conductivity for 4% to 6.5% air voids. The method of measurement and temperature affect considerably thermal conductivity. However, the results were inconclusive in the effect of aggregate size on thermal conductivity. The effect of asphalt aging in thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity varied between the asphalt mixtures studied and was relative to the temperature. Asphalt aging did not affect specific heat capacity.

Quantification of impact compaction locking point for asphalt mixture

The volumetric properties of asphalt mixture are main elements of the interaction of asphalt and aggregate. To ensure a stable structure of compacted asphalt mixture, the concept of locking point was developed to characterize the amount of compaction efforts which are needed to achieve a stable compaction state. The traditional way of defining locking point was based on the change of volume of mixtures during compaction. In this study, the locking point was defined based upon compaction curves from impact compaction. The locking point for two types of dense-graded asphalt mixtures (AC-20C and AC-13C)and one type of open graded asphalt mixture (SMA13) was evaluated by both impact compaction and gyratory compaction. The influence of compaction temperature and asphalt content on locking points was also investigated. Results showed that it was feasible to identify the locking points for impact compaction. The locking point of impact compaction could be analogically determined according to the locking point of the gyratory compaction. The size of Marshall mold may influence impact compaction curves.

Laboratory and Field Evaluation of Pre-Treated Dry-Process Rubber-Modified Asphalt Binders and Dense-Graded Mixtures

Pre-treatment of ground tire rubber is emerging as a popular method to incorporate rubber particles in dense-graded asphalt mixtures. This study investigates the effects of a chemically engineered Dry-Process Ground Tire Rubber (DP-GTR) modification in asphalt binders and mixtures. The DP-GTR is comprised of rubber particles measuring 400 to 600 µm in diameter (minus #30 mesh) coated with a non-elastomeric liquid. No change in aggregate gradation is necessary in DP-GTR modification of asphalt mixtures. In this study, the effects of DP-GTR modification on binder properties were measured by dynamic shear rheometer, Multiple Stress Creep and Recovery (MSCR), and bending beam rheometer tests. Additionally, mixture properties measured by three cracking tests: Disk-shaped Compact Tension (DC[T]) test, Illinois Flexibility Index, and indirect tensile asphalt cracking test and one rutting test (Hamburg wheel track test) were evaluated. Results showed: (a) 10–12°C bump on binder high temperature performance grade with 10% DP-GTR modification by weight of binder; (b) improvement in non-recoverable compliance in MSCR test indicated higher rut resistance; (c) increase in DC(T) fracture energy at low temperatures; (d) decrease in rut depth; and (e) decrease in flexibility index and cracking test index. Field performance of the chemically treated DP-GTR sections located in different states was examined to address discrepancies observed in the cracking tests. The cracking and rutting performance of all the field sections was good-to-excellent, suggesting that some of the currently popular simple cracking tests may not be able to properly assess the cracking resistance inherent in GTR-modified asphalt mixtures.

Laboratory investigation of crumb rubber in dense graded asphalt by wet and dry processes

This article presents the perspective of the use of crumb rubber (CR) from the end-of-life tyres in dense-graded asphalt mixtures by the wet process high viscosity and a dry process in which the purpose of CR was to substitute aggregates. For the wet process CR modified binder was produced by adding 25% of rubber by the mass of the neat bitumen. Added CR content in the dry process was 41% by the mass of neat bitumen. The mixture made by dry process showed a weak internal cohesion and consequently poorer mechanical properties as reference mixtures. On the other hand, the mixture made by the wet process showed significantly better low-temperature and fatigue properties as reference mixtures.

Influence of microcapsules on self-healing performance and road performance of dense-graded asphalt mixture

Asphalt mixture containing microcapsules has a certain self-healing ability, which can prolong the service life of asphalt pavement. In order to study the self-healing performance and road performance of asphalt mixtures containing microcapsules, the intermittent fatigue test and split test were used to study the effect of microcapsule content on self-healing performance, and the road performance of the mixture with different microcapsule content was studied. The results show that with the increase of the amount of microcapsules, the intermittent fatigue life and SHSR of asphalt mixtures containing microcapsules increased first and then decreased, and reached the maximum when the amount of microcapsules was 6%. The low-temperature bending strain of the mixture increased, while the dynamic stability (DS) and TSR decreased. Considering the change law of self-healing performance and road performance, the recommended content range of microcapsules was 4%-6%.

Investigation of self-healing properties of dense-graded asphalt mixture containing microcapsule

To study the self-healing performance of the asphalt mixture with microcapsules and its influencing factors, this paper uses high-pressure water penetration test to evaluate the selfhealing performance of the microcapsule asphalt mixture, and studies the influence of microcapsule content, mixture properties (mixture type, maximum nominal particle size, porosity, asphalt type and amount) and use environment (self-healing temperature and time, moisture) on the self-healing performance. The results showed that as the amount of microcapsules increased, the self-healing effect increased first and then decreased. The optimal amount of microcapsules was determined to be 6%. In terms of the properties of the mixture, the self-healing effect of the suspension dense gradation is better than that of the skeleton dense type, and the matrix asphalt is better than the modified asphalt. The smaller the nominal maximum particle size and porosity are, the better the self-healing effect is. In external conditions, the temperature is conducive to the self-healing of the mixture within a certain range. The selfhealing performance increases nonlinearly with the healing time, and the moisture is not conducive to the self-healing of the asphalt mixture cracks.

Effect of aggregate gradation on crack propagation in asphalt mixtures at low temperatures based on the Eshelby equivalent inclusion theory

This paper presents a study to evaluate the mixed-mode crack propagation behavior of several typical asphalt mixtures at low temperatures. Based on the Eshelby equivalent inclusion theory and Griffith micro-fracture theory, the basis for determining the I-II mix mode fracture types during crack propagation was established. A random particle-based growth algorithm was adopted to develop a heterogeneous DEM model for three typical asphalt mixtures: open-graded structure (OGFC-13), gap-graded structure (SMA-13), and dense-graded structure (AC-13) mixtures, and a virtual indirect tensile test was conducted. The characteristics of the development of I-II mix mode fractures for three asphalt mixtures at low temperatures were analyzed in four aspects: changes in the number of micro-cracks, proportions of crack types, energy release rates, and force chain diagrams of crack tip stress fields. The results indicate that: (1) From the perspective of the changes in the number of cracks, the dense-graded asphalt mixture has the largest number of micro-cracks, and the proportion of mode I cracks that are mainly due to tension is dominant, while the proportion of mode II cracks that are mainly due to shear is insignificant; (2) The crack energy release rate G(t) in the time-domain increases as the rate of internal energy consumption increases, along with a reduction in the energy storage rate, as the spatial distribution of aggregates change in the open-graded, gap-graded, and dense-graded asphalt mixtures. From an energy standpoint, it was found that more energy is required when the dense-graded asphalt mixture is fractured; (3) In terms of the stress field distributions in the crack tip regions, compared with the open-graded and gap-graded asphalt mixtures, the interior of a dense-graded asphalt mixture is less likely to develop stress concentrations, which is beneficial in suppressing the occurrence of a shear stress field, thereby reducing the occurrence of mode II low-temperature cracks. The results of this research provide theoretical support for the anti-cracking design of asphalt mixtures based on meso-characteristics.