3d topological characterisation of aggregates contact network in asphalt mixture

Aggregates contact each other to form a complex network. 3D topological models are established to characterise the mesostructue of asphalt mixtures. Upon analysing the distribution of algebraic connectivity (La), it’s observed that topologies are dominated by the topologies corresponding to La=1.000 and La=2.000. And 10 representative topologies are identified. Furthermore, Upon analysing the relationship between coordination number(𝐾𝑛), clustering coefficient(𝐶𝑖) and the maximum size, it’s observed that with the increase of the maximum size, the AC asphalt mixture skeleton is more compact, the compactness of the SMA asphalt mixture is not significantly affected and the fine-grained OGFC asphalt mixture has a more compact skeleton than medium-grained OGFC mixture. Moreover, the AC asphalt mixture skeleton is relatively loose, the SMA asphalt mixture skeleton is more compact and the OGFC asphalt mixture skeleton exhibits the highest degree of compactness.