Preparation and Analysis of Carbon Fiber-Silicon Carbide Thermally Conductive Asphalt Concrete

An experimental investigation into the thermal conductivity of CF-SiC two-phase composite asphalt concrete is presented.The main objective of this study was to verify the possibility of using SiC powder instead of mineral powder as the thermal conductive filler to prepare a new type of asphalt concrete and improve the efficiency of electrothermal snow and ice melting systems accordingly.The thermal conductivity of asphalt concrete prepared with different thermally conductive fillers was tested by a transient plane source method,and the related performances were measured.Then the temperature rise rate and surface temperature were studied through field heating tests.Finally,the actual ice melting efficiency of the thermally conductive asphalt concrete was evaluated using an effective electrothermal system.As shown by the experimental results,the composite made of SiC powder and carbon fiber has a high thermal conductivity.When SiC replaces mineral powder,the thermal conductivity of the asphalt mixture increases first and then decreases with the increase of carbon fiber content.In the present study,in particular,the thermal conductivity attained a peak when the carbon fiber content was 0.2%of the aggregate mass.

Water Stability Improvement of Acid Fine Aggregate-Based Asphalt Concrete

In general,acid aggregates are not used in combination with asphalt concrete because of their poor compatibility with the asphalt binder,which typically results in a scarce water stability of the concrete.In the present study,the feasibility of a new approach based on the combination of acid granite fine aggregate with alkaline limestone coarse aggregate and Portland cement filler has been assessed.The mineral and chemical compositions of these three materials have first been analyzed and compared.Then,the effect of different amounts of Portland cement(0%,25%,50%,75%and 100%of the total filler by weight)on the mechanical performance and water stability of the asphalt concrete has been considered.Asphalt concrete has been designed by using the Marshall method,and the mechanical performance indexes of this material,including the Marshall stability and indirect tensile strength(ITS),have been measured together with the related water stability indexes(namely the Marshall stability(RMS)and tensile strength ratio(TSR)).The results indicate that the alkaline limestone coarse aggregate and Portland cement filler can balance the drawback caused by the acid granite fine aggregate.The asphalt concrete has good mechanical performances and water stability when the amount of common limestone powder filler replaced by cement is not less than 75%.

Modeling the Impact of Testing Mode on the Viscoelastic Behavior of Asphalt Concrete

The variations in the viscoelastic characteristics of asphalt concrete due to testing mode are assessed and modeled in the present investigation.Asphalt concrete mixture was prepared at its optimum asphalt binder requirement and compacted in slab mold with the aid of roller compaction.Beam specimens of 6.2 cm width,5.6 cm depth,and 40 cm length,were obtained from the slab samples with the aid of a diamond saw,and tested using controlled stress and strain techniques under dynamic flexural stresses.The viscoelastic properties such as the phase angle,cumulative dissipated energy,permanent deformation,flexural stiffness,and micro strain were monitored and modeled among the two testing techniques.It was noticed that higher micro strain and permanent deformation are detected when testing the asphalt concrete specimens under constant strain mode.However,higher phase angle,flexural stiffness,and energy dissipation could be observed under the constant stress mode of the test.

Effects of freeze-thaw cycles on fracture behavior of epoxy asphalt concrete

According to the winter temperature of Peking,the freeze-thaw（FT） condition in laboratory was determined.Seven groups of epoxy asphalt concrete（EAC） specimen were exposed to different FT cycles.The flexural modulus and fracture energy（G_F） of EAC exposed to different FT cycles were obtained through the 3-point bending test.Meanwhile,the plane strain fracture toughness（K_（IC）） of EAC was obtained through numerical simulation.The results show that the flexural modulus of the FT conditioned EAC samples decreases with the increase of FT cycles.The FT damage of flexural modulus is 60%after 30 FT cycles.Nevertheless,with the increase of FT cycles,the G_F and K_（IC） of EAC decrease first and then increase after 15 FT cycles.

Performance Characterization of CR/PU Asphalt for Potential Application in Assembled Fast-Repairing Engineering

Conventional repairing methods for asphalt pavement have some inconveniences,such as insufficient strength,and are typically time-consuming.To address these issues,this study proposes a new technological method to design and prepare a high-performance assembled asphalt concrete block for fast repair of the potholes.A series of composite modified asphalt binders with 10%crumb rubber(CR)and different dosages(0%,1%,3%,5%)of polyurethane(PU)are examined to determine the optimized binder.Subsequently,the corresponding asphalt mixtures are prepared for further comparison and assessment of engineering properties,such as moistureinduced damage,high-temperature deformation,and low-temperature cracking characteristics.The test results show that PU can significantly improve the high-temperature performance and hardness of(crumb rubber modified asphalt)CRMA binder;3%PU contributes allowing the resistance of CRMA mixture to moisture-induced damage at higher levels,particularly under water whole immersion;as 3%PU is added,the high-temperature rutting deformation resistance of the CRMA mixture increases significantly,and the low-temperature anti-cracking properties are also improved slightly.Therefore,the innovatively designed high-quality assembled fast-repairing asphalt concrete block is recommended as an appropriate option for highway maintenance.

Early Debonding Detection of Rebar-Concrete Interface due to External Loading Utilizing AC Impedance Spectroscopy

A novel method for detecting early damage at the steel-concrete interface due to external loading based on AC impedance spectroscopy technology was proposed.Firstly,alkali pretreatment was introduced to ensure the accuracy and repeatability of the AC impedance test.Secondly,the AC impedance spectroscopy between the steel bar and concrete surface of different bonding positions was tested,and then the physical quantities reflecting the bonding damage condition were obtained by equivalent circuit fitting.Theoretical debonding position calculation and AC conductive structure analysis indicate that the change of interface resistance and interface capacitance can seize the development of bonding damage during the loading process.As the interface damage develops,obvious changes in interface resistance and interface capacitance are observed,and they cannot be recovered after unloading.

Discrete Element Modeling of Asphalt Concrete Cracking Using a User-def ined Three-dimensional Micromechanical Approach

We established a user-defined micromechanical model using discrete element method （DEM） to investigate the cracking behavior of asphalt concrete （AC）. Using the ＂Fish＂ language provided in the particle flow code in 3-Demensions （PFC3D）, the air voids and mastics in asphalt concrete were realistically built as two distinct phases. With the irregular shape of individual aggregate particles modeled using a clump of spheres of different sizes, the three-dimensional （3D） discrete element model was able to account for aggregate gradation and fraction. Laboratory uniaxial complex modulus test and indirect tensile strength test were performed to obtain input material parameters for the numerical simulation. A set of the indirect tensile test were simulated to study the cracking behavior of AC at two levels of temperature, i e, -10 ℃ and 15 ℃. The predicted results of the numerical simulation were compared with laboratory experimental measurements. Results show that the 3D DEM model is able to predict accurately the fracture pattern of different asphalt mixtures. Based on the DEM model, the effects of air void content and aggregate volumetric fraction on the cracking behavior of asphalt concrete were evaluated.

Micromechanical modeling of asphalt concrete fracture using a user-defined three-dimensional discrete element method

A user-defined micromechanical model was developed to investigate the fracture mechanism of asphalt concrete （AC） using the discrete element method （DEM）. A three-dimensional （3D） AC beam was built using the ＂Fish＂ language provided by PFC3D and was employed to simulate the three-point bending beam test at two temperature levels： -10 ℃ and 15℃. The AC beam was modeled with the consideration of the microstructural features of asphalt mixtures. Uniaxial complex modulus test and indirect tensile strength test were conducted to obtain material input parameters for numerical modeling. The 3D predictions were validated using laboratory experimental measurements of AC beams prepared by the same mixture design. Effects of mastic stiffness, cohesive and adhesive strength on AC fracture behavior were investigated using the DEM model. The results show that the 3D DEM fracture model can accurately predict the fracture patterns of asphalt concrete. The ratio of stress at interfaces to the stress in mastics increases as the mastic stiffness decreases; however, the increase in the cohesive strength or adhesive strength shows no significant influence on the tensile strength.

Viscoelastic micromechanical model for dynamic modulus prediction of asphalt concrete with interface effects

A viscoelastic micromechanical model is presented to predict the dynamic modulus of asphalt concrete （AC） and investigate the effect of imperfect interface between asphalt mastic and aggregates on the overall viscoelastic characteristics of AC. The linear spring layer model is introduced to simulate the interface imperfection. Based on the effective medium theory, the viscoelastic micromechanical model is developed by two equivalence processes. The present prediction is compared with available experimental data to verify the developed framework. It is found that the proposed model has the capability to predict the dynamic modulus of AC. Interface effect on the dynamic modulus of AC is discussed using the developed model. It is shown that the interfacial bonding strength has a significant influence on the global mechanical performance of AC, and that continued improvement in surface fimctionalization is necessary to realize the full potential of aggregates reinforcement.

Finite element analysis of road structure containing top-down crack within asphalt concrete layer

In this paper, a four-layered road structure containing a top-down crack is investigated by performing finite element analyses in ABAQUS. In this study, in addition to the vertical load of a vehicle wheel, the horizontal load as well as its position with respect to the crack is also considered in the analyses, and the crack tip parameters including stress intensity factors(SIFs) and T-stress are then calculated. Moreover, influence of elastic modulus and thickness of the pavement layers on the crack tip parameters is studied. Results show that the horizontal and vertical loads along with their position with respect to the crack, elastic modulus and thickness of the road layers influence the crack tip parameters(KⅠ, KⅡ and T-stress) significantly. It was also found that for the cases that the vehicle wheel is positioned near the crack plane, only the shear deformation mode is observed at the crack tip;while, for the vehicle wheel positions far from the crack, only the opening mode is observed, and between these positions, both the opening and shear deformation modes(i.e., mixed mode Ⅰ/Ⅱ) are observed at the crack tip.

Microstructural Characteristics of Asphalt Concrete with Different Gradations by X-ray CT

The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the effects of asphalt concrete types on the microstructural characteristics at high-temperature. Suspend-dense structure and Skeleton-dense structure were selected to investigate the deformation of pavement at meso-scale. The internal microstructures of typical asphalt concretes, AC, SUP and SMA, were scanned by X-ray CT device, and microstructural changes before and after high-temperature damage were researched by digital image processing. Adaptive threshold segmentation algorithm（ATSA） based on image radius was developed and utilized to obtain the binary images of aggregates, air-voids and asphalt mastic. Then the shape and distribution of air-voids and aggregates were analyzed. The results show that the ATSA can distinguish the target and background effectively. Gradation and coarse aggregate size of asphalt mixtures have an obvious influence on the distribution of air-voids. The movements of aggregate particles are complex and aggregates with elliptic sharp show great rotation. The effect of gradation on microstructure during high-temperature damage promotes the research about the failure mechanism of asphalt concrete pavement.

Resistivity-temperature Characteristics of Conductive Asphalt Concrete

The changes of resistivity of conductive asphalt concrete at different temperatures were studied,and positive temperature coefficient（PTC）modelwas established to estimate the influence of temperature on the resistivity quantitatively,which eliminated the interference with conductivity evaluation brought by temperature variation.Finally,the analysis of temperature cycling test results proves that the changes of percolation network structure caused by temperature variation prompt the emergence of PTC of conductive asphalt concrete.

Assessing the Ageing Impact on Fatigue-Life of Asphalt Concrete

The fatigue-life of asphalt concrete is often related to environmental condition,loading condition,ageing,material composition and properties.This work investigates the influence of short and long term ageing of laboratory beam specimens,asphalt percent,and testing temperature on fatigue life of asphalt concrete wearing course.Slab samples of(30 × 40 × 6)cm have been prepared,beam specimens of(40 × 5 × 6)cm were extracted from the asphalt concrete slab samples and tested for fatigue-life under the impact of three levels of micro strain(250,400,and[3]750)at(5,20,and 30)℃ before and after practicing long-term aging.It was observed that the fatigue-life decreased by(85 and 97)%,(87.5 and 97.4)%,(71.4 and 95.2)%after increasing the applied microstrain from(250 to 400 and 750)μƐfor control mixture and for mixtures subjected to shortand long-term ageing processes respectively.The fatigue-life increased by(142.8 and 257.1)%,(34.4 and 57.8)%and(10 and 30)%when the asphalt content increased from(4.4 to 4.9 and 5.4)%for specimens practicing the applied microstrain of(250,400 and 750)μƐrespectively.It can be concluded that the fatigue life increases by a range of(two to fifteen)folds when the testing temperature increases from(5 to 20 and 30)℃ respectively.

Impact of Compaction Mode on Strength Properties of Sustainable Asphalt Concrete

Various modes of compacting the asphalt concrete mixture can create mechanically different behaviour of the prepared specimens and can alter its sustainability.An attempt has been made in the present assessment to prepare asphalt concrete specimens by implementation of three modes of compaction,the gyratory,the roller,and the Marshall hammer.The specimens were prepared at the target bulk density of Marshall method at optimum asphalt content.Extra specimens were prepared at 0.5%asphalt below and above the optimum.Core specimens have been obtained from the roller compacted slab samples.The specimens were tested for the Marshall stiffness,tensile,and shear strength.It was observed that at optimum asphalt content,the indirect tensile strength declines by(18.8 and 70.5)%for gyratory and roller compacted specimens respectively as compared with hammer compacted specimens.At optimum asphalt content,the shear strength declines by(70.5 and 82.2)%while Marshall stiffness declines by(10.2 and 44.8)%for hammer and roller compacted specimens as compared with that of gyratory compacted specimen.Specimens prepared by gyratory compaction are less susceptible to the change in the testing temperature as compared with other modes of compaction.It is recommended to consider the mode of compaction to suit the required design property of sustainable asphalt concrete mixture.

Numerical study of fatigue damage of asphalt concrete using cohesive zone model

In order to investigate the fatigue behavior of asphalt concrete, a new numerical approach based on a bi-linear cohesive zone model （CZM） is developed. Integrated with the CZM, a fatigue damage evolution model is established to indicate the gradual degradation of cohesive properties of asphalt concrete under cyclic loading. Then the model is implemented in the finite element software ABAQUS through a user-defined subroutine. Based on the proposed model, an indirect tensile fatigue test is finally simulated. The fatigue lives obtained through numerical analysis show good agreement with laboratory results. Fatigue damage accumulates in a nonlinear manner during the cyclic loading process and damage initiation phase is the major part of fatigue failure. As the stress ratio increases, the time of the steady damage growth stage decreases significantly. It is found that the proposed fatigue damage evolution model can serve as an accurate and efficient tool for the prediction of fatigue damage of asphalt concrete.

Experimental evaluation of asphalt mixtures with emerging additives against cracking and moisture damage

The objective of this study was to evaluate and recommend an asphalt mixture design with emerging additive technologies that would provide superior performance against asphalt concrete(AC)stripping and cracking.To achieve this objective,a laboratory test program was developed to evaluate the use of nanomaterials(nanoclay and graphene nanoplatelet),an emerging anti-stripping agent(adhere),and warm-mix asphalt technologies(ZycoTherm,Sasobit,and EvoTherm).Two mix types were evaluated,which were a stone-matrix asphalt(SMA)and a dense-graded binder mix.In addition,the modified Lottman test(AASHTO T 283)and the indirect tensile asphalt cracking test(IDEAL-CT)test were used as performance indicators of moisture damage resistance and cracking susceptibility.Results were analyzed statistically to identify and quantify the effects of the design variables and selected additives on the performance,moisture damage resistance,and durability of asphalt mixes.Based on the cracking test results,a superior cracking resistance performance was observed with ZycoTherm,irrespective of the mix type.Adhere had the lowest average cracking indices for both mix types,which suggest that it would not perform as well as the other additives in terms of cracking resistance.Overall,SMA mixes displayed greater cracking resistance than the dense-graded mixtures,which may have been the result of the reclaimed asphalt pavement(RAP)material used in the dense-graded mix and its lower asphalt binder content.In terms of moisture resistance,both nanomaterials(graphene nanoplatelet and nanoclay)did not perform well as they did not meet the minimum required tensile strength ratio(TSR)criterion(>0.80).In addition,nanomaterials showed the lowest TSR values in both mix types suggesting that their effectiveness against moisture-induced damage may not be as good as warm-mix additives.On the other hand,warm-mix additives were expected to show enhanced performance in terms of moisture resistance as compared to the other additives evaluated in this study.

Performance evaluation of open-graded epoxy asphalt concrete with two nominal maximum aggregate sizes

Open-graded friction course(OGFC) is applied to pavement surfaces to increase driving safety under wet conditions, and recently, to reduce tire/pavement noise. The durability of OGFC, however, has been a concern since conventional OGFC mixes last typically less than ten years before major maintenance or rehabilitation is needed. This work investigates a new open-graded asphalt mixture that uses epoxy asphalt as binder to improve mix durability. One type of epoxy asphalt that has been successfully applied to dense-graded asphalt concrete for bridge deck paving was selected. A procedure of compacting the mix into slab specimens was developed and a series of laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of the new mix, including Cantabro loss, permeability, friction, shear strength, and wheel rutting tests. Results show superior overall performance of the open-graded epoxy asphalt mix compared to conventional open-graded asphalt mix. There are also preliminary indications that the OGFC mix with 4.75-mm NMAS gradation can improve the resistance performance to raveling, while the OGFC mix with 9.5-mm NMAS gradation can improve the performance of surface friction at a high slip speed.

Self-monitoring Application of Asphalt Concrete Containing Graphite and Carbon Fibers

The self-monitoring application of asphalt concrete containing graphite and carbon fibers using indirect tensile test and wheel rolling test were introduced. The experiment results indicate that this kind of pitch-based composite is effective for strain/stress self-monitoring. In the indirect tensile test, for a completely conductive asphalt concrete specimen, the piezoresistivity was very weak and slightly positive, which meant the resistivity increase with the increment of tensile strain at all stress/strain amplitudes, with the gage factor as high as 6. The strain self-sensing ability was superior in the case of higher graphite content. However, when the conductive concrete was embedded into common asphalt concrete specimen as a partial structure function, the piezoresistivity was positive at all stress/strain amplitudes and with the gage factor of 13, which was much higher than that of completely conductive specimen. Thus, the strain self-sensing ability was superior when conductive asphalt concrete was taken in as a partial structure function. In the wheel-rolling test, the piezoresistivity was highly positive. At any stress amplitude, the piezoresistivity was strong, with the gage factor as high as 100, which was higher for a stress amplitude of 0.7 MPa than that of 0.5 MPa.

Predicting the Dynamic Behavior of Asphalt Concrete Using Three-dimensional Discrete Element Method

A user-defined three-dimensional （3D） discrete element model was presented to predict the dynamic modulus and phase angle of asphalt concrete （AC）. The 3D discrete element method （DEM） model of AC was constructed employing a user-defined computer program developed using the ＂Fish＂ language in PFC3D. Important microstructural features of AC were modeled, including aggregate gradation, air voids and mastic. The irregular shape of aggregate particle was modeled using a clump of spheres. The developed model was validated through comparing with experimental measurements and then used to simulate the cyclic uniaxial compression test, based on which the dynamic modulus and phase angle were calculated from the output stress- strain relationship. The effects of air void content, aggregate stiffness and volumetric fraction on AC modulus were further investigated. The experimental results show that the 3D DEM model is able to accurately predict both dynamic modulus and phase angle of AC across a range of temperature and loading frequencies. The user- defined 3D model also demonstrated significant improvement over the general existing two-dimensional models.

Simulation and analysis of two-point bending fatigue test of asphalt concrete based on discrete element model

In order to investigate the fatigue performance of French high modulus asphalt concrete and the correlation between Burger's parameters and fatigue life, the virtual model of asphalt mixture trapezoidal specimen in the two-point bending fatigue test was constructed in discrement element software PFC3D. The initial stiffness and the maximum stress when the specimen reached fatigue were calculated. Through the comparison between virtual and single field fatigue test curves, the credibility of simulation in DEMwas verified.Then, the impacts of top controlled displacement and Burger's parameters( E_1,E_2,η_1,η_2) on the fatigue life of the specimen were explored. The simulation results indicate that the maximum stress increases with the increase in the top controlled displacement. With the increase of E_1 and the decrease of E_2 in Burger's model, the modulus of the asphalt binder increases, and the fatigue performance of the asphalt mixture enhances. η_1 and η_2 have limited influence on fatigue life compared with E_1 and E_2.