In order to investigate the effect o f some factors on the unconfined compressive strength(UCS)for composite soil stabilizer-stabilized gravel soil(CSSSGS),the orthogonal test is adopted to set up the experimental scheme.Three levels o f each factor armconsidered to obtain the change laws o f UCS,in which the binder dosages are8%,10%,and12%;the curing times ae7,14and21d;the gradation nae0.3,0.35and0.4;and the degrees of compaction are95%,97%,and99%.The range analysis clearly indicates that the influence degree o f the four factors on UCS is in such an order:dosage,age,gradation,and degree o f compaction.The variance analysis shows that only the composite soil stabilizer dosage can significantly affect UCS.In road construction,the examination o f composite soil stabilizer dosage and base-course maintenance should be given much more attention to obtain satisfactory base-course strength,compared w ith gradation floating and the change of degree o f compaction.
A micromechanical model based on discrete element method（DEM） was employed to investigate the effects of aggregate size and specimen scale on the cracking behavior of asphalt mixture. An algorithm for generating three-dimensional aggregates that can reflect the realistic geometry such as shape, size and fracture surface of aggregate particles was developed using a user-defined procedure coded with FISH language in particle flow code in three-dimensions（PFC3 D）. The parallel-bond model（PBM）, linear contact model（LCM）, and slip model（SM）, whose sets of micro parameters were obtained by comparing experimental tests with numerical simulation results, were used to characterize the internal contact behavior of asphalt mixture. Digital asphalt mixture specimens were used to simulate the effects of aggregate size and specimen scale on the cracking behavior by the indirect tensile（IDT） test. Some conclusions can be drawn as follows： Both cracks and IDT strength decrease with increasing aggregate size. However, the heterogeneity of contact-force distribution augments with increasing aggregate size, especially with 13.2-16 mm aggregate. The aggregate size of 4.75-9.5 mm dominates in forming skeleton structure for asphalt mixture. The IDT strength decreases and cracks augment with increasing sample scale. The crack growth can be well interpreted from the perspective of energy analysis. The conclusions show that the proposed micromechanical model is suitable for the simulation of crack propagation. This study provides an assistant tool to further study the cracking behavior of particle-reinforced composites material such as asphalt mixture and Portland cement concrete.
Both macro and micro-methods were introduced to study the physical and chemical properties of thermal oxidative aging of SBS （styrene-butadiene-styrene） modified asphalt. The physical properties of SBS modified asphalt before and after aging were analyzed by normal tests. The structure and quality variation of SBS modified asphalt during the aging process was analyzed by FTIR （Fourier transform infrared spectrum）. FTIR result shows that the degeneration of SBS modified asphalt is mainly caused by oxidative reaction and rupture of C=C double bond. The molecular weight variations of asphalt function groups and SBS polymer were studied by GPC （Gel Permeation Chromatography）. GPC result shows that small molecules transform into larger one in asphalt and SBS polymer molecule degrade during the aging process. SBS polymer may lose its modifying function after long time aging.
In order to investigate the permanent deformation behavior of asphalt mixtures from discontinuity, the virtual rutting test of asphalt mixtures is developed by the discrete element method （DEM）. A digital specimen generation procedure considering aggregate gradation and irregular shape is developed based on the probability theory and the Monte Carlo method. The virtual rutting test is then conducted based on the generated digital specimen. In addition, on the basis of the time-temperature superposition （TTS） principle, a calculation method is used to reduce the computation time of the virtual rutting test. The simulation results are compared with the laboratory measurements. The results show that the calculation method based on the TFS principle in the discrete element （DE） viscoelastic model can significantly reduce the computation time. The deformation law of asphalt mixtures in the virtual rutting test is similar to the laboratory measurements, and the deformation and the dynamic stability of the virtual rutting test are slightly greater than the laboratory measurements. The two-dimensional virtual rutting test can predict the permanent deformation performance of asphalt mixtures.
To investigate migration and evolution rules of coarse aggregates in the static compaction process, an algorithm of generating digital coarse aggregates that can reflect real morphology（ such as shape, size and fracture surface） of aggregate particles, is represented by polyhedral particles based on the discrete element method（ DEM）. A digital specimen comprised of aggregates and air voids is developed. In addition,a static compaction model consisting of a digital specimen and three plates is constructed and a series of evaluation indices such as mean contact force σMCF, wall stress in direction of zcoordinate σWSZZ, porosity and coordination numbers are presented to investigate the motion rules of coarse aggregates at different compaction displacements of 7. 5, 15 and 30 mm. The three-dimensional static compaction model is also verified with laboratory measurements. The results indicate that the compaction displacements are positively related to σMCF and σWSZZ, which increase gradually with the increase in iterative steps. When the compaction proceeds, the digital specimen porosity decreases, but the coordination number increases. The variation ranges of these four indices are different at different compaction displacements. This study provides a method to analyze the compaction mechanism of particle materials such as asphalt mixture and graded broken stone.
