Asphalt Concrete (AC) is a composite material consisting of natural or recycledaggregates blended with petroleum-based binder. The majority of pavements in the U.S. includeAC materials which are often exposed to the adverse effects of moisture. Moisture damage is oneof the major factors that decrease the service life of pavements by causing and/or facilitating thedevelopment of several distresses. In this context, this study numerically investigates the effectof moisture presence on the micro, meso, and macroscale responses of AC materials. AMicromechanical modeling framework based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) wasdeveloped to examine the potential of moisture damage in AC materials. The microstructure ofthe material was characterized using the non-destructive X-ray Computed Tomography (CT)technique. Images obtained from X-ray CT scans were used to generate FEM-basedmicromechanical models. Preliminary analyses were performed to identify the RepresentativeVolume Element (RVE) of the composite AC material. It was observed that relatively smallwindow sizes, as low as 15 mm, were able to reasonably capture the bulk and shear moduli of theAC mixture. A hydro-micromechanical approach for studying moisture damage was followed.Moisture fields throughout the microstructure were generated in a mass diffusion procedurefollowed by mechanical loading with the properties of AC constituents evolving as a function ofmoisture state. Results obtained quantified the contribution of cohesive and adhesive damage onthe overall mixture response to moisture presence.
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Micromechanical finite element modeling of asphalt concrete materials considering moisture presence
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