Real-Time Flow Behavior of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Compaction Based on Rheological Constitutive Theory

Abstract

Compaction is the most critical stage during pavement construction, but the real-time rheological behavior in the compaction process of hot mix asphalt has not received enough attention. Rheological properties directly reflect the of mixture performance, the intrinsic directly reflects the influencing factors of compaction, and the pavement compactness and service life. Therefore, it is important to interpret the rheological properties of the asphalt mixture during the compaction process. In this paper, the improved Nishihara model was used to study the viscoelastic-plastic properties of the hot mix asphalt in the compaction process. Firstly, the improved Nishihara model was briefly introduced. Subsequently, the stress and strain correlation curves are obtained by the MTS (Material Testing System) compaction test, and the strain-time curve is fitted to determine the model parameter values. Finally, the parameters are substituted into the constitutive equation to obtain the strain-time curve and compared it with the test curve. The results show that the improved Nishihara model effectively depicts the real time behavior of the asphalt mixture in the compaction progress. The viscos and plastic parameters present certain differences, which reflects that the gradation and temperature have certain influence on the compaction characteristics of the mixture.