A three-dimensional (3-D) locally homogeneous model for asphalt mixtures is presented in this study, which can effectively balance the simulating accuracy and computational effort. Moreover, the locally homogeneous model accounts for various aggregate gradations to allow for the mesoscale analysis of the asphalt concrete (AC) under loading. In the first step of the locally homogeneous model development, weighted Voronoi tessellation technology was employed to divide the volume of asphalt mixture into several local parts in terms of the aggregate gradations and random particle locations with each part containing one or a few aggregates particles. Subsequently, the mesomechanical Mori–Tanaka method was used to calculate the homogeneous mechanical properties for each local space. Finally, 3-D models of asphalt mixtures were developed, which were further used for numerical simulations. The finite element method was used for the asphalt mixture mesoscale investigations. Two asphalt mixtures were studied consisting of dense- and gap-graded aggregates and labeled, respectively, AC-13 and stone mastic asphalt (SMA)-11. The efficacy of the numerical analysis was demonstrated by comparing model-generated responses and performance with compressive dynamic loadings test results. The models demonstrated the ability to characterize the linear viscoelastic performance for both asphalt mixtures. Furthermore, the locally homogeneous models of AC-13 and SMA-11 mixtures were coupled into global asphalt pavements to identify the influence of aggregate particles on their mechanical responses. The results indicated that the locally homogeneous models are able to consider both the pavement structure at the global scale and the internal feature of asphalt mixtures at the local scale.

中文翻译：

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基于三维局部均匀模型的随机骨料级配沥青混合料表征

本研究提出了一种沥青混合料的三维（3-D）局部均匀模型，该模型可以有效地平衡模拟精度和计算量。此外，局部均匀模型考虑了各种骨料级配，以允许在加载下对沥青混凝土 (AC) 进行中尺度分析。在局部均匀模型开发的第一步中，采用加权 Voronoi 镶嵌技术将沥青混合料的体积根据骨料级配和随机颗粒位置划分为多个局部部分，每个部分包含一个或几个骨料颗粒。随后，使用细观机械 Mori-Tanaka 方法计算每个局部空间的均匀力学性能。最后，开发了沥青混合料的 3D 模型，进一步用于数值模拟。有限元法用于沥青混合料中尺度研究。研究了两种由密级配和间隙级配集料组成的沥青混合物，并分别标记为 AC-13 和石乳香沥青 (SMA)-11。通过将模型生成的响应和性能与压缩动态载荷测试结果进行比较，证明了数值分析的有效性。这些模型展示了表征两种沥青混合物的线性粘弹性性能的能力。此外，将 AC-13 和 SMA-11 混合物的局部均匀模型耦合到全球沥青路面，以确定骨料颗粒对其机械响应的影响。