Uniaxial Compressive Process Simulation of Geocell-Reinforced Asphalt Mixture by Discrete Element

Abstract

Based on laboratory tests and the discrete element method (DEM), this study investigated the reinforcement by geocells on the compressive process of asphalt mixture. By considering the vital material features and mechanical properties of different ingredients (the three-dimensional irregular shapes and elastic properties of coarse aggregates and geocells, the viscoelastic properties of asphalt mastic, and the random distribution of air voids within asphalt mastic), micromechanical modeling of geocell-reinforced asphalt mixture and virtual uniaxial compression test was built by using PFC3D. The effects of geocell reinforcement on the compression process of the asphalt mixture were evaluated through the virtual compression test. The results show that the built DEM and virtual test can effectively predict the compression process of geocell-reinforced asphalt mixture. The geocell reinforcement positively affected the compression process of asphalt mixture by affecting the distribution of micromechanical forces and displacements in the asphalt mixture. Moreover, the geocell reinforcement was more significant on asphalt mastic. This indicates that the geocell significantly improves the compressive performance of asphalt mixture from the microscopic perspective.