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Material Characterization, Design and Modeling of Asphalt Pavements
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Material Characterization, Design and Modeling of Asphalt Pavements

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction and Building Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 2218

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Weidong Cao

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Guest Editor
School of Qilu Transportation, Shandong University, Jinan, China
Interests: road engineering materials; pavement structure; asphalt pavements; modeling
Dr. Jizhe Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Qilu Transportation, Shandong University, Jinan, China
Interests: design and characterization of new pavement materials; resource utilization of solid waste; road engineering intelligent maintenance equipment and technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Dedong Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
School of Transportation and Civil Engineering, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan, China
Interests: pavement materials and structure; sustainable and smart new materials and technologies for road construction and maintenance
Dr. Wengang Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
School of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, China
Interests: polymer modified asphalt; alternative and recycled materials for civil engineering; intelligent road materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Asphalt mixture is the most commonly used material for road pavement. A thorough understanding of its material properties, behavior under various conditions, and the impact of design choices on its longevity is essential for optimizing pavement performance and lifecycle cost. By exploring the interplay between material science and pavement engineering, this Special Issue will consolidate innovative research and advancements in the material characterization, design methodologies, and predictive modeling of asphalt pavements. It aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and provide a platform for disseminating new findings that can enhance pavement engineering practices. The scope includes novel material characterization techniques, the influence of additives and modifiers on pavement performance, innovative sustainable design practices, and computational modeling applications to predict asphalt mixes and pavement behavior under various conditions. Article types may range from original research papers and review articles to case studies and technical notes. This Special Issue is designed to bring together cutting-edge developments in civil engineering materials and their applications, aligning with the journal's focus on advancing transportation infrastructure.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Weidong Cao
Dr. Jizhe Zhang
Guest Editors

Prof. Dr. Dedong Guo
Dr. Wengang Zhang
Guest Editor Assistants

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • asphalt
  • asphalt mix
  • asphalt pavement
  • pavement structure
  • material characterization
  • mix design
  • pavement design
  • modeling
  • simulation analysis

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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17 pages, 3088 KB  
Article
Quantitative Evaluation of the Blending Between Virgin and Aged Aggregates in Hot-Mix Recycled Asphalt Mixtures
by Haoyang Zou, Yunlong Sui, Wei Lu, Teng Wang, Dedong Guo, Xupeng Sun and Zhiye Liu
Materials 2025, 18(23), 5439; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18235439 - 2 Dec 2025
Viewed by 168
Abstract
Severe asphalt ageing and the difficulty in dispersing agglomerated particles within reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) hinder the uniform blending of virgin and aged mineral aggregates during plant-mixed hot recycling, compromising the durability of the recycled asphalt mixture. To accurately quantify the degree of [...] Read more.
Severe asphalt ageing and the difficulty in dispersing agglomerated particles within reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) hinder the uniform blending of virgin and aged mineral aggregates during plant-mixed hot recycling, compromising the durability of the recycled asphalt mixture. To accurately quantify the degree of blending between virgin and aged aggregate during thermal recycling and to optimise the mix design and mixing process for thermally recycled asphalt mixtures, a test method has been proposed. This method comprises key steps, including the preparation of asphalt mixtures, separation of virgin and aged materials, separation of the binder from aggregate, and calculation of the blending degree. It analyses the impact of varying mixing conditions on the blending degree of virgin and aged aggregate during the thermal recycling process. The results indicate that complete homogenization of virgin and aged aggregates during mixing is unattainable, with blending efficiency ranging from 40% to 60%. Increasing the amount of RAP has a negligible effect on blending efficiency. Appropriate increases in the amount of rejuvenating agent, mixing temperature, mixing time, and asphalt content enhance blending efficiency by 10% to 30%. The mixing sequence where RAP is first blended with virgin aggregate before incorporating virgin asphalt further enhances the blending efficiency of virgin and aged aggregates by approximately 20%. However, mixing temperatures exceeding 160 °C and mixing times exceeding 270 s caused secondary ageing of the asphalt, adversely affecting the blending degree of virgin and aged aggregates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Material Characterization, Design and Modeling of Asphalt Pavements)
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18 pages, 1869 KB  
Article
Study on the Fatigue and Healing Characteristics of Steel Slag Asphalt Concrete
by Heng Yuan, Haofeng Zheng, Hao Huang and Liantong Mo
Materials 2025, 18(23), 5361; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18235361 - 28 Nov 2025
Viewed by 137
Abstract
The fatigue healing mechanisms of steel slag asphalt concrete remain unclear and involve complex influencing factors. When used as an asphalt pavement material in actual road engineering projects, there is a risk of significant deviations in fatigue life predictions and insufficient stability in [...] Read more.
The fatigue healing mechanisms of steel slag asphalt concrete remain unclear and involve complex influencing factors. When used as an asphalt pavement material in actual road engineering projects, there is a risk of significant deviations in fatigue life predictions and insufficient stability in long-term service performance. In this study, traditional diabase asphalt concrete was used as a reference. Mix design was carried out for various steel slag asphalt mixtures, where steel slag coarse aggregates partially or entirely replaced diabase coarse aggregates. By using four-point bending fatigue testing, the fatigue life and stiffness modulus recovery capacity of steel slag asphalt concrete were analyzed after simulating low-temperature winter fatigue damage followed by healing at different temperatures (20 °C, 35 °C, 60 °C, and 75 °C). The test results indicated that the addition of steel slag coarse aggregates significantly affected the fatigue life and stiffness modulus of asphalt concrete. The use of coarser steel slag and autoclaved steel slag aggregates was beneficial for improving fatigue life. After experiencing low-temperature fatigue damage, increasing the healing temperature enhanced the modulus recovery effect but had a relatively low effect on life recovery. Overall, the stiffness modulus healing index of steel slag asphalt concrete exceeded 90%, while the fatigue life healing index ranged between 19% and 55%. After five fatigue healing cycles, the total fatigue life can be extended by 1.7 to 2.3 times. A life prediction model under multiple fatigue healing tests can be established using the stiffness modulus healing index and fatigue damage rate. Model predictions and measured results confirmed that the total fatigue healing life of asphalt concrete with the complete replacement of diabase coarse aggregates by steel slag coarse aggregates was greater than that of traditional diabase asphalt concrete. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Material Characterization, Design and Modeling of Asphalt Pavements)
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16 pages, 4757 KB  
Article
The Development of a Fatigue Failure Prediction Model for Bitumen Based on a Novel Accelerated Cyclic Shear Test
by Yankai Wen and Lin Wang
Materials 2025, 18(16), 3729; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18163729 - 8 Aug 2025
Viewed by 506
Abstract
Fatigue failure of bitumen significantly influences the durability and service life of asphalt pavement. Current fatigue tests have drawbacks such as long durations, unrealistic traffic loading simulations, and difficulties of identifying failure mechanisms. Similarly, existing prediction models are often overly complex and inaccurate. [...] Read more.
Fatigue failure of bitumen significantly influences the durability and service life of asphalt pavement. Current fatigue tests have drawbacks such as long durations, unrealistic traffic loading simulations, and difficulties of identifying failure mechanisms. Similarly, existing prediction models are often overly complex and inaccurate. To solve these drawbacks, in this study, a novel accelerated cyclic shear test in stress-controlled mode using a dynamic shear rheometer was introduced to evaluate the fatigue performance and reveal the fatigue failure mechanism of bitumen. The sigmoidal function was applied to develop a simplified fatigue failure prediction model for bitumen through stress and temperature shifts. The results demonstrate that bitumen’s response under the newly proposed loading method aligns consistently with behaviour characteristic of a plasticity-controlled failure mechanism. The variable parameter load ratio significantly influenced the bitumen’s time-to-failure, which increased as the load ratio decreased. Bitumen exhibited the longest time-to-failure when the load ratio (minimum stress/maximum stress) was 0.1. The developed model effectively predicted the time-to-failure of bitumen across different load ratios and under various temperature and stress conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Material Characterization, Design and Modeling of Asphalt Pavements)
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19 pages, 8420 KB  
Article
Comprehensive Performance Evaluation of Epoxy Reclaimed Asphalt and Mixtures
by Junhao Tian, Dedong Guo, Qi Xu, Jiang Wu, Xupeng Sun, Li Wang and Chiara Riccardi
Materials 2025, 18(5), 982; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18050982 - 23 Feb 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 919
Abstract
In order to improve the reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) dosing and the road performance of recycled asphalt mixtures, this study prepared epoxy recycled binder (ERB) and epoxy recycled mixtures (ERMs) by dosing epoxy asphalt, respectively. The rheological characteristics and microstructure of ERB were [...] Read more.
In order to improve the reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) dosing and the road performance of recycled asphalt mixtures, this study prepared epoxy recycled binder (ERB) and epoxy recycled mixtures (ERMs) by dosing epoxy asphalt, respectively. The rheological characteristics and microstructure of ERB were comprehensively analyzed using a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), a bending beam rheometer (BBR), and fluorescence microscopy (FM). The road performance of ERM was evaluated by a four-point bending test, a rutting test, trabecular beam bending test, a freeze–thaw splitting test, an immersion Marshall test, and a uniaxial compression dynamic modulus test. Grey relational analysis (GRA) was used to quantify the correlation between the dosage of epoxy system and road performance indicators. The results show that, after the addition of the epoxy system, the high- and low-temperature rheological properties of ERB were improved by 458.3% and 97.9% compared with those of ordinary asphalt, and the high-temperature performance and fatigue performance of ERM were improved by 220.4% and 80.5% compared with SBS-modified asphalt mixtures. The dynamic modulus test showed that the dynamic modulus of ERM was positively correlated with the dosage of epoxy system. GRA showed that the dosage of epoxy system was most closely related to the fatigue performance of recycled mixtures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Material Characterization, Design and Modeling of Asphalt Pavements)
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