Evaluation of Internal Resistance in Asphalt Concretes

Composites are somewhat more difficult to model than an isotropic material such as iron or steel due to the fact that each layer may have different orthotropic material properties. In finite element literature the asphalt mixes are represented by using rectangular meshes, not the actual picture of their cross-sections. Asphalt aggregate size and distribution in the asphalt concrete sample, aggregate shape, and fractured surface effects are ignored. In this research, the actual image of the sample including all these effects were directly considered in the finite element. The samples, were cut into cross-sections and were scanned. The image-processing toolbox of Labview was utilized in obtaining the rectangular gray images of the scanned images. In the rectangular sample the aggregates were white and the asphalt binders were black. The grayscale images were converted by LABVIEW into the format required by ANSYS as an input file, with the same dimensions. The nodes at the bottom of the model were constrained in both x and y directions. Left and right edges were symmetry and top was free. Certain amount of pressure was applied along the top surface to simulate the tire pressure.