University of California, Pavement Research Center, Building 452, 1353 South 46th Street, Richmond, CA 94804, United States; CSIR, Built Environment, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa; Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Pavement Research Center, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, United States
Wu, R., University of California, Pavement Research Center, Building 452, 1353 South 46th Street, Richmond, CA 94804, United States; Denneman, E., CSIR, Built Environment, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa; Harvey, J., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Pavement Research Center, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, United States
Cracking is a major source of distress in hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavements. Various approaches have been proposed to describe crack initiation and propagation in HMA. This paper evaluates a finite element analysis technique that uses the embedded discontinuity method (EDM) for model cracking. The purpose of this study is to identify the strengths and potential weaknesses of the approach and investigate its applicability in general crack simulation for HMA pavements. An alternative formulation of EDM is adopted to make the approach easier to understand. The cohesive-crack model is used to describe development of HMA cracking. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the ability of EDM to simulate uniaxial-tension, three-point bending, and semicircular beam bending tests. It is shown that EDM is a promising finite element analysis technique, but additional research is needed to make it more robust.
Beam bending; Crack initiation and propagation; Crack model; Embedded discontinuity; Finite element analysis; Hot mix asphalt; Hot-mix asphalt concretes; Numerical example; Three point bending; Asphalt; Bending tests; Crack initiation; Cracking (chemical); Cracks; Electric dipole moments; Electric discharge machining; Micromachining; Pavements; Finite element method