TA832 : Modeling the visco-elastic behavior of asphalt mixtures using the finite element method
Thesis > Central Library of Shahrood University > Civil & Architectural Engineering > MSc > 2025
Authors:
[Author], Sayyed Ali Hosseini[Supervisor], Seyed Mehdi Tavakkoli[Supervisor]
Abstarct: Abstract The asphalt mixture consists of aggregates and bitumen. At high temperatures, the resulting asphalt mixture exhibits viscoelastic behavior. The viscoelastic behavior of asphalt mixtures is sensitive to temperature and viscosity. Previous studies have shown that the Prony series is an effective tool for modeling viscoelastic behavior, and its coefficients can be determined using experimental data. Nowadays, this behavior can be analyzed and predicted through numerical modeling software. In this study, creep and compression tests were used to model the viscoelastic behavior of asphalt mixtures. The samples were hot-mix asphalt containing 60/70 bitumen, and all tests were conducted at a constant temperature of 22 °C under various loading rates. To evaluate the viscoelastic parameters, static creep tests were performed at three pressure levels (2 bar, 4 bar, and 6 bar), each repeated twice. The average results of the repetitions were used to extract the viscoelastic parameters. These parameters, represented by τ_i^g و g_i^(-p), were obtained using two methods: normalized shear modulus and normalized creep compliance. The obtained parameters were then used as input data for viscoelastic modeling. To determine the viscoelastic parameters using the normalized shear modulus method, the coefficient of determination (R²) was employed as a measure of model fitting accuracy. The R² values for 2 bar, 4 bar, and 6 bar were 0.9979, 0.9899, and 0.9967, respectively. Numerical modeling of the creep test was performed under the same conditions as the laboratory test. The modeling results were compared with the averaged experimental data, and the accuracy of the extracted parameters was verified through relative error analysis. The relative error was found to be less than 5%, indicating the high accuracy of the extracted viscoelastic parameters. The verified viscoelastic parameters, including τ_i^g و g_i^(-p), were then used as input for compression test modeling. Compression tests were conducted at the same temperature as the creep tests and at loading rates of 0.5, 10, 20, 30, and 50 mm/min, each repeated twice. The averaged results of each rate were compared with the corresponding numerical models, and the absolute error was calculated. In addition to absolute error analysis, the coefficient of determination (R²) was computed for all loading rates to assess the model accuracy compared to the experimental compression results. The R² values for all loading rates were above 0.962, demonstrating a very good agreement and confirming the validity of the viscoelastic modeling. To further verify and predict the nonlinear viscoelastic behavior, both elastic and viscoelastic modeling were performed.
Keywords:
#_Asphalt mixture، Viscoelastic، Abaqus، Prony series، Static creep، Finite element Keeping place: Central Library of Shahrood University
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