Abstract The prediction and assessment of the effective property of asphalt concrete is a key issue in its application in road engineering and dam seepage prevention. This paper uses meso-random modeling technology and finite element method to study the effect of gradation curve on the effective elastic modulus of asphalt concrete. First of all, based on the improved Monte Carlo method, the efficient generation of an asphalt concrete meso-random model that obeys the experimental sieve grading curve or the given function grading curve is realized. Then, the established model was used to analyze the influence of aggregate content, elastic modulus and sample size on the effective elastic modulus of asphalt concrete, and compared with the experimental results to verify the reliability of the built model. Therefore, the degree of unevenness of the gradation curve in the AC-13 gradation range, that is, the influence of the composition ratio of coarse and fine aggregates on the effective elastic modulus of asphalt concrete, is predicted. The calculation results show that the concavity and convexity of the gradation curve has a big difference in the effect of its effective elastic modulus; the depression of the gradation curve (increasing the proportion of coarse aggregate) results in the rapid increase of the effective elastic modulus, and the convexity of the gradation curve (increasing the proportion of fine aggregate) also incurs the small rise of the effective elastic modulus. In addition, the proposed random modeling method can realize the customized design of the gradation curve, that is, the composition ratio of coarse and fine aggregates.
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Received: 28 March 2021
Published: 14 December 2021
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