Generation of virtual asphalt mixture porosity for computational modelling

A new algorithm is proposed for the computational generation of realistic asphalt mixture porosity for computational simulations. The algorithm starts by generating in a 2D domain a number of randomly positioned circular or elliptical elements that are meant to represent virtual asphalt aggregate pa...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chiarelli, Andrea, Dawson, Andrew, Garcia, Alvaro
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34769/
_version_ 1848794931523485696
author Chiarelli, Andrea
Dawson, Andrew
Garcia, Alvaro
author_facet Chiarelli, Andrea
Dawson, Andrew
Garcia, Alvaro
author_sort Chiarelli, Andrea
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description A new algorithm is proposed for the computational generation of realistic asphalt mixture porosity for computational simulations. The algorithm starts by generating in a 2D domain a number of randomly positioned circular or elliptical elements that are meant to represent virtual asphalt aggregate particles. These elements are then grown by mimicking the biological mechanism called contact inhibition until a target air void content (AVC), chosen by the user, is met. In addition, multiple 2D domains can be converted to 3D and combined to generate a multi-layered realistic representation of the porosity present in asphalt mixtures. In this paper, the working mechanism of the algorithm is described and its efficiency is assessed. Moreover, the validity of the results is discussed, and virtual domains, in both 2 and 3 dimensions, are compared with real CT scans in order to show the efficacy of this approach. It was found that the virtual representations of the asphalt mixture porosity show realistic characteristics in terms of air void content and that the air void size distribution is consistent with that of real specimens.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T19:24:02Z
format Article
id nottingham-34769
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T19:24:02Z
publishDate 2015
publisher Elsevier
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-347692020-05-04T17:09:03Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34769/ Generation of virtual asphalt mixture porosity for computational modelling Chiarelli, Andrea Dawson, Andrew Garcia, Alvaro A new algorithm is proposed for the computational generation of realistic asphalt mixture porosity for computational simulations. The algorithm starts by generating in a 2D domain a number of randomly positioned circular or elliptical elements that are meant to represent virtual asphalt aggregate particles. These elements are then grown by mimicking the biological mechanism called contact inhibition until a target air void content (AVC), chosen by the user, is met. In addition, multiple 2D domains can be converted to 3D and combined to generate a multi-layered realistic representation of the porosity present in asphalt mixtures. In this paper, the working mechanism of the algorithm is described and its efficiency is assessed. Moreover, the validity of the results is discussed, and virtual domains, in both 2 and 3 dimensions, are compared with real CT scans in order to show the efficacy of this approach. It was found that the virtual representations of the asphalt mixture porosity show realistic characteristics in terms of air void content and that the air void size distribution is consistent with that of real specimens. Elsevier 2015-05-02 Article PeerReviewed Chiarelli, Andrea, Dawson, Andrew and Garcia, Alvaro (2015) Generation of virtual asphalt mixture porosity for computational modelling. Powder Technology, 275 . pp. 351-360. ISSN 0032-5910 Asphalt; Air void content; Packing; Porosity http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032591015000972 doi:10.1016/j.powtec.2015.01.070 doi:10.1016/j.powtec.2015.01.070
spellingShingle Asphalt; Air void content; Packing; Porosity
Chiarelli, Andrea
Dawson, Andrew
Garcia, Alvaro
Generation of virtual asphalt mixture porosity for computational modelling
title Generation of virtual asphalt mixture porosity for computational modelling
title_full Generation of virtual asphalt mixture porosity for computational modelling
title_fullStr Generation of virtual asphalt mixture porosity for computational modelling
title_full_unstemmed Generation of virtual asphalt mixture porosity for computational modelling
title_short Generation of virtual asphalt mixture porosity for computational modelling
title_sort generation of virtual asphalt mixture porosity for computational modelling
topic Asphalt; Air void content; Packing; Porosity
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34769/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34769/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34769/