Experimental Study on Fractal Characteristics of Particle Size Distribution by Repeated Compaction of Road Recycling Crushed Stone

Abstract

In order to investigate the compaction characteristics of graded crushed stone under repeated utilization, it is necessary to improve the utilization rate of road recycling crushed stone and maintain its strength and stability during recycling. In the present study, repeated compaction characteristic curves of graded crushed stone were developed using repeated compaction and screening of the graded crushed stone. The correlations between the fractal dimension of particle size distribution and repeated compaction times, water content, and dry density were analyzed. The experimental results indicate that both the maximum dry density and the optimal water content increase as the repeated compaction times increase. The fractal dimension of the particle size distribution of the graded crushed stone used in this test is 2.33 to 2.57. The obtained results show that as the fractal dimension increases, the maximum dry density of the graded crushed stone increases. At a constant repeated compaction time, the fractal dimension of the particle size distribution of graded crushed stone increased and then decreased as the water content increased. In summary, the compaction performance of the structural layer of graded crushed stone can be tuned by adjusting the fractal dimension of the particle size distribution of the recycled pavement structural layer in practical applications. Moreover, the optimal graded materials can be prepared under the guidance of the fractal dimension, thereby achieving an optimized working performance of the recycled pavement structural layer.