Multi-scale Modelling and Characterization of Asphalt Pavement Materials—Second Edition

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Materials, and Repair & Renovation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 2613

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Highway Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany
Interests: asphalt pavement design; application of numerical methods on pavement engineering; bearing capacity of asphalt pavement; meso-model of asphalt pavement considering its multiphase
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
School of Transportation, Southeast University, No.2 Sipailou, Nanjing 210096, China
Interests: microstructural analysis of asphalt mixture; structure-intelligent detection; recycled aggregate asphalt mixture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce this Special Issue of Buildings, which will focus on the multi-scale modelling and characterisation of asphalt pavement materials.

The ability of asphalt materials to resist damage during service is related to the multi-scale properties of the material. Therefore, in order to deeply understand the deformation and failure of the asphalt materials, we should not only study them on a macroscopic scale, which allows us to analyse the appearance of the materials, but we should also fully carry out multi-scale analysis, integrating the perspectives of multiple disciplines such as engineering, materials, chemistry, and physics. By quantitatively or qualitatively correlating relevant physical, chemical, and geometric parameters at different scales, new methods and a basis for material selection, modification, and structure design can be provided. In recent years, scholars have used advanced nano- and micro-scale testing technology, molecular dynamics, meso-mechanics, numerical simulation methods, and other multi-scale research methods to conduct valuable discussions on the properties of asphalt pavement materials, which form the foundation for the accurate characterisation and prediction of the performance of asphalt pavement materials.

This Special Issue will provide an opportunity to highlight recent developments in the multi-scale modelling and characterisation of asphalt pavement materials, covering topics such as:

  • Innovative multi-scale characterisation methods.
  • Innovative image processing and multi-scale model reconstruction.
  • Novel, sustainable, multifunctional high-performance building materials.
  • Bridging scale methods.
  • Combined FEM and DEM approach to determine multiphase behaviour of pavement materials.
  • Numerical modelling of multifunctional pavement materials.
  • Molecular dynamics modelling.
  • Multiphysics simulation of pavement materials.

Prof. Dr. Pengfei Liu
Dr. Jing Hu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • innovative multi-scale characterisation methods
  • innovative image processing and multi-scale model reconstruction
  • novel, sustainable, multifunctional high-performance building materials
  • bridging scale methods
  • combined FEM and DEM approach to determine multiphase behaviour of pavement materials
  • numerical modelling of multifunctional pavement materials
  • molecular dynamics modelling
  • multiphysics simulation of pavement materials

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 3095 KiB  
Article
High-Performance Geopolymers with Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash: Influence on the Mechanical and Environmental Properties
by Xiaochen Lin, Dapeng Zhang, Zehua Zhao, Cheng Zhang, Bing Ma, Hao Zhou, Yi Wang, Dingming Xue, Jing Tang, Chen Chen, Jing Li, Zengqing Sun, Houhu Zhang and Weixin Li
Buildings 2024, 14(11), 3518; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14113518 - 4 Nov 2024
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Abstract
Geopolymer is a sustainable low-carbon cementitious material that is able to incorporate large amounts of solid waste as precursors or activators. As the proportion of municipal solid waste incineration continues to rise in China, the large-scale generation of municipal solid waste incineration fly [...] Read more.
Geopolymer is a sustainable low-carbon cementitious material that is able to incorporate large amounts of solid waste as precursors or activators. As the proportion of municipal solid waste incineration continues to rise in China, the large-scale generation of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWI FA) has emerged as a significant challenge. The production of geopolymers represents a potential pathway for the comprehensive utilization of MSWI FA. However, most studies have reported that geopolymers containing MSWI FA exhibit low strength, which diminishes their economic value. Furthermore, the unclear environmental risks associated with MSWI FA-based geopolymers have impeded their broader application. This study explores the use of MSWI FA as a substitute for ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) or coal fly ash (CFA) in the production of high-performance geopolymers, achieving compressive strengths exceeding 60 MPa, even when the MSWI FA content reaches 50%. A synergistic effect is observed between MSWI FA and CFA, which enhances the reactivity of CFA. With reasonable formulation, the environmental risks of geopolymers containing MSWI FA are manageable in normal rainfall scenarios. However, there remains a potential risk of soil and groundwater contamination under extreme conditions, such as acid rain. Full article
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17 pages, 2400 KiB  
Article
Simulation of Water Flow Path Length (WFPL) and Water Film Depth (WFD) for Wide Expressway Asphalt Pavement
by Zhenggang Cheng, Zhiyong Liang, Xuhua Li, Xiaowei Ren, Tao Hu and Huayang Yu
Buildings 2024, 14(1), 254; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14010254 - 17 Jan 2024
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Abstract
This paper simulates actual rainfall conditions and raindrops flowing to form a water flow path (WFP) on the pavement surface of the wide expressway. Then, the different linear combination conditions, including longitudinal slope (LS), transverse slope (superelevation, TS), gradual change rate of TS, [...] Read more.
This paper simulates actual rainfall conditions and raindrops flowing to form a water flow path (WFP) on the pavement surface of the wide expressway. Then, the different linear combination conditions, including longitudinal slope (LS), transverse slope (superelevation, TS), gradual change rate of TS, and pavement width (PW), were simulated and analyzed. The results show that (1) the influence of each linear index on the maximum water film path length (WFPLmax) and maximum water flow depth (WFDmax) differs (according to the absolute values of Beta, LS has the greatest influence on WFPLmax, and PW has the greatest influence on the WFDmax for both straight-line and circular-curve sections); (2) when the design value of LS is between 1.1% and 4%, the WFDmax can be effectively reduced by lowering the value of LS; (3) in the case of a high design value of LS, it can be considered to increase the TS of the pavement arch from 2% to 2.5% to effectively reduce the WFPLmax, and the wider PW, the better the reducing effect; (4) while widening the expressway, adjusting the TS from 2% to 2.5% can effectively offset the increasing effect of PW on the WFDmax. This research aims to fill the research gap in the simulation of runoff characteristics of wide expressway asphalt pavements and to improve the alignment design of expressways from the drainage perspective for the improvement of driving safety. Full article
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