Discrete Element Simulation and Analysis for Max Density Curve Theory of Mineral Aggregate Mixtures

Abstract

In highway pavement engineering, mineral aggregate gradation is a key consideration in mixture design. The max density curve theory is one of the most popularly-used methods to design mineral mixture gradation. The main objective of this research is to present a numerical method for investigating impacts of mineral aggregate properties on model parameters of the max density curve theory. Through this study it was found that the maximum particle size gave an important impact on the model parameters, even though the model parameter n is around 0.45 for popularly-used mineral mixtures.