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Air-Void Distribution Analysis of Asphalt Mixture Using Discrete Element Method

Article  in  Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering · January 2012

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000661

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 Air-Void Distribution Analysis of Asphalt Mixture
Using Discrete Element Method
Jingsong Chen, Ph.D. 1; Baoshan Huang, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE 2; and Xiang Shu, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE 3

Abstract: Heterogeneous air void distribution is a common phenomenon in asphalt mixtures and is intimately related to the behavior of the
asphalt mixture. Air void distribution within an asphalt mixture specimen is related to several factors, such as compaction effort, method of
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compaction (equipment), and aggregate gradation. In this study, virtual digital specimens generated by an open source discrete element
method (DEM) program were utilized to investigate the effect of compaction factors on air void distribution. The compaction processes
of a Superpave gyratory compactor (SGC) and a vibratory compactor were simulated by DEM. Effects of aggregate gradation, specimen
height, mold size, mold shape, and compaction method on the inhomogeneous distributions of air voids were studied through statistical
analyses. The results from DEM simulation were in good agreements with laboratory test results as well as those found in the literature.
This research demonstrated that DEM simulation could be a potentially helpful tool for analyzing asphalt mix compaction and selecting
appropriate aggregates for asphalt mix design. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000661. © 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
CE Database subject headings: Asphalts; Mixtures; Discrete elements; Simulation.
Author keywords: Asphalt mixture; Air voids distribution; Discrete element method; Simulation.

Introduction on the behavior of asphalt mixtures, nondestructive digital image

An asphalt paving mixture is a multiphase composite material that
consists of an asphalt binder, coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, min-
eral filler, and other additives. The behavior of an asphalt mixture is
highly related to the volumetric fractions and space distribution of
these components. Air void is one of the most important volumetric
properties of an asphalt mixture that affects the mixture’s stability
and durability. An asphalt mixture with lower than optimum air
voids may cause rutting due to plastic flow, whereas higher air
voids can result in premature cracking or raveling due to moistures
and oxidation (Roberts et al. 1996). Although the amount of air
voids in an asphalt mixture greatly affects the mixture behavior,
asphalt mixture specimens with the same total volume of air voids
may exhibit distinctively different mechanical behaviors due to
variations of air void distribution (Shu and Huang 2008a, b,
2009). However, due to the limitation of conventional laboratory
testing techniques, the total air voids within a specimen are still
used for designing and evaluating asphalt mixtures.
In recent years, in order to capture the internal structure of
asphalt mixtures and evaluate the effects of air void distribution
1
Guangzhou Expressway Co., Ltd., 1800 S. Guangzhou Rd.,
Guangzhou, Guangdong 510288, China; formerly, Joint Graduate Student,
Tongji Univ., Shanghai 201804, China; and Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville,
TN 37996. E-mail: jchen27@utk.edu
2
Professor, School of Transportation Engineering, Tongji Univ.,
Shanghai 201804, China; and Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 (corresponding
author). E-mail: bhuang@utk.edu
3
Research Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996. E-mail: xshu@
utk.edu
Note. This manuscript was submitted on November 30, 2011; approved
on August 16, 2012; published online on August 24, 2012. Discussion per-
iod open until March 1, 2014; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Materials in Civil
Engineering, Vol. 25, No. 10, October 1, 2013. © ASCE, ISSN 0899-
1561/2013/10-1375-1385/$25.00.
analysis techniques, especially X-ray computed tomography (CT),
have been used by some researchers. Masad et al. (2002) used an
X-ray CT system along with image analysis software and quanti-
fied the structure of air voids in asphalt mixes. They analyzed the
distribution of air void sizes and number of air voids with depth
by processing horizontal X-ray tomography images of asphalt
concrete specimens and studied the effects of several factors, such
as number of gyrations in Superpave gyratory compactor (SGC),
compaction method, and aggregate gradations. Masad and Button
(2004) studied vertical air void distribution in gyratory compacted
specimens, linear kneading compacted specimens, and field cores
based on the images captured by X-ray CT, and found different
air void distribution patterns in those asphalt specimens. Muraya
(2007) analyzed the air void distribution of three different types
of asphalt mixtures (porous asphalt concrete, stone mastic asphalt
concrete and dense asphalt concrete) with a more sophisticated
coring pattern in the post processing stage of X-ray images and
obtained different vertical air void distribution patterns at different
layers in asphalt specimen.
In addition to measuring the air void distribution pattern in as-
phalt mixtures, Dubois et al. (2010) quantified the inhomogeneous
air void distribution in a study of the internal structure of gyratory
and roller compacted specimens by means of measuring gamma
rays. They used the standard deviation to evaluate the influence of
both specimen dimensions and the coring direction on compaction
homogeneity. Thyagarajan et al. (2010) investigated both vertical
and lateral air void distributions in asphalt specimens through ana-
lyzing successive X-ray images. They developed vertical and lateral
heterogeneity indices to describe the level of heterogeneity of
the air void distribution within the specimen in vertical and lateral
directions. They evaluated the effects of compaction factors on
the heterogeneity of asphalt mixture, such as compaction method,
specimen preparation, and sample height.
X-ray CT and digital image analysis techniques usually require
costly test equipment and cannot preestimate the air void distri-
bution before asphalt mixture compaction. A numerical software

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J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 2013.25:1375-1385.

 simulation may potentially provide such capabilities. The discrete
element method (DEM) is a discontinuum analysis approach that
can simulate the packing process of discrete particles assembly
under quasi-static and dynamic conditions and gain further insight
into the interaction among discrete particles. Asphalt mixture com-
paction actually is a process of aggregate packing and slippages
that occur between aggregates during this process. Hence DEM
may simulate the compaction of asphalt mixtures (Chen 2011;
Chen et al. 2012). The present study utilized an open source DEM
code to simulate asphalt mixture compaction and further analyzed
virtual digital specimens obtained from the simulation. With DEM
simulation, the effect of compaction factors (such as compaction
method, compaction boundary) on air void distribution can be
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investigated through post processing digital specimen.
Objective
The primary objective of the study is to investigate the different
factors affecting laboratory-compacted specimens of asphalt mix-
tures utilizing an open source DEM code, YADE. A Superpave
gyratory compactor and vibrator compactor were considered for
DEM simulation and further evaluation for the factors affecting
the heterogeneity of air void distribution.
DEM Application and DEM Code
DEM was first applied by Cundall and Strack (1979) to solve prob-
lems in rock mechanics. It is also suitable for computing the
motions of a large number of particles such as granular material.
DEM assumes that the particles are rigid, but soft contacts (over-
laps) happen between rigid particles with force displacement law.
Single rigid particle motion is calculated from resultant contact
and body forces acting on the particle according to Newton’s
second law of motion. With its inherent advantage, the DEM has
been used widely for studying the behavior of soils and granular
materials (John et al. 1989; Jing 2000; Yao and Anandarajah 2003;
Xie and Zhao 2009).
Buttlar and You (2001) applied the DEM method to predict
creep strains of an HMA laboratory specimen subjected to diamet-
rical loads in a Superpave indirect tension (IDT) test. Dai and You
(2007) established two-dimensional (2D) discrete element models
for the prediction of viscoelastic creep stiffness of asphalt mixture
and obtained reasonable prediction of the creep stiffness across
the reduced loading time. Collop et al. (2004, 2006) used DEM
to simulate the behavior of a highly idealized bituminous mixture
(single-sized spherical particles mixed with bitumen) under uni-
axial and triaxial compressive creep loading. The DEM predicted
results are in reasonable agreement with experimental data.
You and Buttlar (2004, 2006) applied a clustered DEM ap-
proach to predict the asphalt mixture complex modulus through
2D DEM simulations and found that the DEM approach provides
a lower modulus prediction compared to the experimental data for
some fine mixes due to insufficient aggregate–aggregate contacts in
the 2D model. You and Buttlar (2005) utilized a 2D clustered dis-
crete element modeling approach to simulate hollow cylinder ten-
sile (HCT) test, and the DEM simulation results were found to be in
good agreement with experimental measurements across a range of
test temperatures and loading frequencies for the coarse-grained
mixtures investigated. Adhikari and You (2010) further extended
the 2D DEM approach and established three-dimensional (3D) dis-
crete element models of the hollow cylindrical asphalt concrete
specimens and found that the 3D DEM models yielded a better
dynamic modulus prediction than the 2D DEM models.
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J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 2013.25:1375-1385.
Kim and Buttlar (2005) and Kim et al. (2008) utilized DEM
to investigate fracture mechanisms in asphalt concrete at low
temperatures. The DEM simulation results were shown to compare
favorably with experimental results and can provide more details of
the fracture process in laboratory fracture tests. Abbas et al. (2007)
analyzed the viscoelastic response of asphalt mixtures using DEM.
Their DEM model predictions compared favorably with the Simple
Performance Tester (SPT) measurements. The DEM approach has
also been employed in studying the effect of air voids on asphalt
mixtures. You et al. (2010) modeled an idealized asphalt mixture
with discrete element method for both two-dimensional (2D) and
three-dimensional (3D) cases and proved that the specimens have
lower modulus when the air voids are higher in the specimens for
both 2D and 3D models.
Most DEM studies have so far mainly focused on the mechanic
behavior of compacted specimens of asphalt concrete that already
cool down. Few researches have been reported on hot and loose
asphalt mixtures utilizing DEM. Wang et al. (2007) established a
simple DEM model to study the compaction mechanics of asphalt
mixture. They concluded that DEM simulations can provide an in-
sight view of asphalt mixture compaction process in which aggre-
gate particles translate and rotate into different positions, forming
a denser packing. DEM codes play an important role in research
and applications. Commonly used commercial DEM codes such as
PFC2D/3D have their own FISH programming language and spe-
cific commands for DEM simulation (Itasca Consulting Group,
2004). However, the core code of a commercial DEM software
is a black box for software users, and thus limits their ability to
extend applications. The commercial DEM codes are usually costly
and unaffordable for many researchers. Open source or noncom-
mercial DEM codes provide an alternative. Examples of open
source or noncommercial DEM codes include BALL and TRUBAL
(Cundall 1978), YADE (Kozicki and Donzé 2008), and Pasimodo
(Popp and Schiehlen 2008).
YADE Open-DEM is a 3D Open Source GNU/GPL software
framework designed with dynamic libraries and implemented
in C++ language, which started as an offspring from SDEC at
Grenoble University. It provides a stable and uniform environment
for researchers to implement computational algorithms for DEM
and has been successfully used in composite materials and geotech-
nical engineering research (Donzé et al. 1999; Camborde et al.
2000; Belheine et al. 2009; Harthong et al. 2009; Jerier et al.
2010). With the extendable and modifiable character of open source
code, YADE DEM code could also be coupled with other codes/
methods. Rousseau (2009) coupled the discrete element model
and the finite element model to analyze concrete structures and found
the coupled FEM/DEM model worked more efficiently than DEM
models. Chen et al. (2008) used coupled open source code YADE-
OpenFOAM to investigate the upward seepage flow and obtained
reasonable results for the analysis of a particle-fluid system. In this
study, the YADE Open-DEM was modified for simulating asphalt
mixture compaction and the output virtual digital specimens were
utilized for investigating the heterogeneous air void distribution.
Burger’s Contact Law and Input Parameters
In DEM, all particles are assumed to be rigid bodies and the inter-
actions only happen at contacts or interfaces between these bodies.
Therefore, the contact law is a critical factor affecting the accuracy
and rationality of the DEM simulation. Burger’s constitutive model
is a viscoelastic model and has been successfully applied to study
the time-dependent behaviors of asphalt mixtures in DEM simula-
tion (Liu et al. 2009; Abbas 2004; Chen 2011; Chen et al. 2012).
 Table 1. Burger’s Model Parameter
Parameters E1 (MPa) η1 (MPa · s) E2 (MPa) η2 (MPa · s)
Value 15.996 652.714 10.891 1.898
Note: At 150°C.

In this study, in order to simulate the viscoelastic properties of

asphalt mixtures, Burger’s constitutive model was employed and
a new constitutive law engine was incorporated into the YADE
code to process the calculation. Detailed information can be found
in Chen (2011) about Burger’s constitutive model. The parameters
of Burger’s model can be obtained through nonlinear regression
analysis of dynamic modulus master curve (Abbas 2004). Table 1
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presents the parameters of Burger’s model at 150°C.

Asphalt Mixture Compaction DEM Simulation

Assumption of Aggregate in DEM Simulation

Due to the limitation of computer processing capability, it is impos-
sible to simulate all the aggregate particles in asphalt mixture com-
paction (tens of millions of small particles have to be considered
in asphalt mixture). According to Simpson and Tatsuoka (2008),
DEM analyses to date are limited to about 105 particles, generally
circular (2D) or spherical (3D). Although Cundall (2001) predicted
that 1011 particles could be available in DEM modeling within
20 years, it is still insufficient to model most real boundary value
problems on a particle-by-particle basis. In order to solve this
problem, one common assumption in DEM simulation is to model
practical situations using much larger particles with appropriate Fig. 1. Asphalt mixture compactors: (a) Superpave gyratory compactor
scaling law. In asphalt mixture DEM simulation, it is common to (SGC); (b) vibratory compactor
simulate only the aggregate particles bigger than a particular size
and to assume that fine aggregate particles and asphalt are mixed
together as mastic, which is taken into account by the contact
law between particles. Collop et al. (2004, 2006) used 1.18-mm compaction device in the United States and some other countries.
spherical ball models to simulate aggregate to study bulk material In SGC DEM simulation, the vertical pressure was set at 600 kPa
properties and viscoelastic behavior of asphalt mixture. Kim et al. and the angle of gyration was set at 1.25°. The gyration was applied
(2008) built a homogeneous DEM model using 0.35-mm radius at a rate of 30 revolutions per minute. The procedures of the SGC
particles to simulate asphalt concrete fracture, and obtained reason- DEM simulation process can be summarized as following:
able results. In the present study, the maximum aggregate size of • Generate compaction cylinder and funnel;
25 mm is much greater than 2.36 mm, and the mixtures had a rel- • Randomly generate particles in specific space;
atively low proportion of fine aggregate smaller than 2.36 mm. • Packing of spheres under gravitational force until stabilization
Thus only aggregates greater than 2.36 mm were simulated in [Fig. 2(a)];
the DEM. The fine aggregates and asphalt binder were assumed
to be mixed together as a special mastic, which was taken into
account by contact constitutive law between coarse aggregates.
The coarse aggregates were assumed to be spherical balls wrapped
with asphalt mastic (Chen 2011; Chen et al. 2012; Simpson and
Tatsuoka 2008).
Although spherical particles are not very close to the real shape
of aggregates, the calculation results with the spherical particles are
reliable (robust) and may provide an insight for understanding as-
phalt mixture compaction process which can be used for further so-
phisticated DEM analyses. The spherical particle simplification has
been used by many researchers in asphalt mixture DEM simulation
with reasonable results (Collop et al. 2004, 2006; Kim et al. 2008).

DEM Simulations for SGC and Vibratory Compaction

Gyratory and vibratory compactors are commonly used to compact
asphalt mixture specimens in the laboratory (Fig. 1). These two
compaction methods were investigated in the study. The Superpave
Fig. 2. DEM simulation process of SGC compaction
gyratory compactor (SGC) has been routinely used as an HMA

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J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 2013.25:1375-1385.

 • Generate compression plate and gyratory compact asphalt mix-
ture by a constant pressure [Fig. 2(b)];
• Record the position of compression plate and spheres during the
compaction process; and
• Calculate air voids of the whole mixture or each layer.
Vibratory compaction is another commonly used compaction
method to make asphalt specimens (both beam and cylindrical
specimens) in the laboratory. During vibratory compaction, loose
asphalt mixtures are placed in the mold and compacted under a
combined effect of a dynamic vibratory force and a static force.
The static compaction force is controlled by the compaction pres-
sure and the counter balance pressure. The compactor head comes
down at the system pressure (621 kPa). When the compaction head
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generate compression plate and compact asphalt mixture by a
dynamic pressure as shown in Fig. 3.
Air Voids Prediction and Verification
As mentioned earlier, the positions of the gyratory plate and par-
ticles can be recorded at specified time steps during the virtual
simulations of compaction process and then the coarse aggregate
compaction density (V CA ) can be calculated. Although aggregate
particles smaller than 2.36 mm were not considered as individual
particles in the DEM simulation, the air voids can be roughly esti-
mated utilizing the proportional relationships between components.
It was assumed that all fine aggregates and asphalt binder were

reaches the top of the steel mold and the compaction motors start,
the counter balance valve opens and puts balance pressure on the
compaction head upward (207 kPa). Therefore, 621 kPa downward
and 207 kPa upward pressures would translate into a static pressure
of 413.64 kPa. The vibratory action is produced by two vibrators
attached to the compaction head. Each compactor can provide a
minimum of 445 N and a maximum of 7126 N vibratory force,
which results in a minimum of 23.7 kPa and a maximum of
358 kPa pressure for two compactors.
According to the above calculations of static and vibratory
forces, the input compaction force can be presented in Fig. 3, which
is also used as a force function of compaction plate in the DEM
simulation. It should be noted that, since an explicit time stepping
algorithm is employed in DEM simulation, the values of compac-
tion force is constant during each specific time step and the value of
compaction force at different time step is calculated according to
the force function. The default rotational speed is 3,600 vibrations
per minute (VPM).
When the compaction head moves downward and reaches the
top of the steel mold, the vibrating actions will be activated auto-
matically. The compaction will consolidate and compact the loose
mixed together as asphalt mastic and filled into the voids between
coarse aggregates. According to the proportional relationship be-
tween coarse and fine aggregates, the volume of fine aggregate
(V FA ) in the whole mixture can be calculated and the volume of
asphalt (V asphalt ) can be calculated from the asphalt content in the
whole mixture. With the known values V CA , V FA , and V asphalt , the
air voids (V v ) can be calculated with Eq. (1).
V v ¼ 1 − V CA − V FA − V asphalt ð1Þ
Fig. 4 presents the DEM simulation and the laboratory test re-
sults for an asphalt mixture used in the study. It can be seen from
Fig. 4 that the air void compaction curves for both SGC and
25
DEM Prediction
20 Lab Test
Air Voids (%)

asphalt mixture confined in the specimen mold. There are two stop 15
control modes applied for the compaction process: time control and
height control. When either of the two conditions is satisfied, the
10
compactor will stop automatically. In order to study the effects of
different factors on asphalt mixture vibratory compaction, the time
control termination pattern was used here and the control height 5
was set at a low value (25.4 mm) by adjusting the compaction head.
The compaction time can be adjusted from the cycle time counter
on the control unit. The procedures of the vibratory DEM simula- 0
0 50 100 150 200 250
tion process were similar to those for SGC compaction except for (a) Gyration
step four. In the vibratory compaction simulation, step four was to 20
Lab Test
DEM Prediction

15
Air Voids (%)

fs+fd
10

5
fs

0
0 10 20 30 40 50
(b) Time (s)
0 fs = value of static force fd = magnitude of vibration force t
Fig. 4. Comparison of DEM prediction and laboratory test results:
Fig. 3. Force function of compaction plate (a) SGC gyratory compaction; (b) vibratory compaction

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J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 2013.25:1375-1385.

 vibration DEM simulations are close to those of laboratory test. The
final air voids of DEM simulation are slightly lower than those of
the laboratory test. The lower air voids from the simulation are
probably caused by two reasons. The first reason may be caused
by the assumption of spherical particles to model coarse aggre-
gates, resulting in no interlock effect between particles in DEM
simulation. The second reason could be the assumption of filling
of asphalt mastic in the voids between coarse aggregates. In reality,
fine aggregates and asphalt binder are not totally filled into the
voids of coarse aggregate, causing more air voids in asphalt mix-
tures. Fine aggregate and asphalt binder inevitably have some in-
fluence on the packing of coarse aggregates during asphalt mixture
compaction (Chen 2011).
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Heterogeneity in Air Void Distribution
Postprocessing of Digital Specimen and Air Void
Distribution Pattern
In the previous section, Fig. 4 shows the overall air voids of asphalt
mixture changing with gyration/time for SGC and vibratory com-
paction. As mentioned earlier, the asphalt mixture specimens with
the same total air voids may have distinct mechanical behavior due
to heterogeneous air void distributions. During DEM simulation,
virtual digital specimens can be obtained by outputting geometric
data of aggregate particles at specific time steps. With appropriate
postprocessing of these digital specimens, the air void distribution

H1

H2

H3 r6
r5
r4
H4
r3
r2
H5
A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6
r1
H6

H7

H8

H9

H10

(a)

(b)

Fig. 5. Virtual cutting and digital specimens: (a) virtual cutting and coring; (b) one layer and one hollow cylinder for postprocessing

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J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 2013.25:1375-1385.

 12
50 Gyration
100 Gyration
10 200 Gyration

8
Layer

6
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0
0 2 4 6 8 10
(a) Percent of air voids (%) (b)

Fig. 6. Vertical air distribution in gyratory compaction: (a) DEM-predicted results; (b) measured results (from Masad and Button 2004, Figure 8,
p. 217. © National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, 2004. Reproduced with permission of the Transportation Research Board.)

within a digital specimen can be determined. In order to study the

12
air void distribution in the vertical and lateral directions, a virtual
digital specimen was divided into ten layers with equal height 50 Gyration
10 100 Gyration
in vertical direction and six solid or hollow cylinders with equal 200 Gyration
cross-sectional area in the lateral direction. Fig. 5 shows the vir-
Percent of Air Voids (%)

8
tual cutting and coring pattern and the digital specimens for post
processing.
Fig. 6 compares the DEM prediction results of the vertical air 6

void distribution within a gyratory compacted specimen with the

test results from Masad and Button (2004) using the images 4
captured from an X-ray CT. From Fig. 6, it can be seen that the
air voids decreased as the number of gyrations increased and 2
larger air voids can be found at the top and bottom of the speci-
men. This bathtub-shaped vertical air void distribution was con- 0
sistent with the results reported by other researchers (Masad et al. 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
(a) Radius (mm)
1999, 2002; Tashman et al. 2002). Fig. 7 compares the DEM pre-
diction results of the lateral air void distribution within gyratory
compacted specimens with the test results from Thyagarajan et al.
(2010). In Fig. 7, an obvious nonuniform lateral air void distribu-
tion can be found and the air voids decreased from outer region to
inner region. The air voids in regions close to the mold boundary
were much higher than those of inside regions. The lateral air void
distribution also matched well with the results by Thyagarajan
et al. (2010).
Air void distribution is related to several factors, such as com-
paction effort, method of compaction, and aggregate gradation
(Masad et al. 2002; Tashman et al. 2002). In order to quantitatively
evaluate the effects of compaction methods, specimen height, and
specimen preparation on air void distribution, Thyagarajan et al.
(2010) developed a parameter, heterogeneity index, to describe (b)
the level of heterogeneity of the air void distribution within an as-
phalt mixture specimen in vertical and lateral directions. To better Fig. 7. Lateral air void distribution in gyratory compaction: (a) DEM-
understanding the effects of compaction factors, all the test spec- predicted results; (b) Measured results (reprinted from Thyagarajan
2010, with permission from Taylor & Francis Ltd., http://www
imens in their research have the air voids of around 7% and the
.informaworld.com)
heterogeneity index was defined as follows:

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J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 2013.25:1375-1385.

 100
Table 2. DEM Simulation Plan
Specimen Compaction Aggregate Height Mold size
number method gradation (mm) (mm) Mold shape 80

1-1,2,3 SGC CA ¼ 0.7 160 150 cylinder

Percent Passing (%)

2-1,2,3 SGC CA ¼ 0.7 140 150 cylinder
60
3-1,2,3 SGC CA ¼ 0.7 120 150 cylinder
4-1,2,3 SGC CA ¼ 0.7 100 150 cylinder
5-1,2,3 SGC CA ¼ 0.7 120 175 cylinder 40
6-1,2,3 SGC CA ¼ 0.7 120 125 cylinder
7-1,2,3 SGC CA ¼ 0.7 120 100 cylinder
CA=0.1
8-1,2,3 SGC CA ¼ 0.1 120 150 cylinder 20 CA=0.4
9-1,2,3 SGC CA ¼ 0.3 120 125 cylinder CA=0.7
10-1,2,3 SGC CA ¼ 1.0 120 100 cylinder CA=1.0

11-1,2,3 Vibration CA ¼ 0.7 120 150 cylinder

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0
12-1,2,3 Vibration CA ¼ 0.7 120 150 rectangular 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Sieve Size (0.45 power)
Note: Specimen height (#1, 2, 3, 4; gyratory compaction); Aggregate
gradation (#3, 8, 9, 10; gyratory compaction); Mold size (#3, 5, 6, 7; Fig. 8. Aggregate gradations (maximum size 25 mm)
gyratory compaction); Mode shape (#11, 12; vibration compactor);
Compaction method (#3, 11.); CA = coarse aggregate ratio in the
Bailey method.


1X M
V i − V Avg
HI ¼ abs ð2Þ
M i¼1 V Avg

where M = total number of vertical layers or lateral regions; V i = air

void content in the ith layer or region; and V Avg = overall average
air void content of the specimen.
With the help of DEM simulation, the effect of these factors
can be investigated by analyzing the virtual digital specimens under
different conditions. In this study, the effect of compaction method,
aggregate gradation, specimen height, mold size, and shape were
explored. The detailed DEM simulation plan is listed in Table 2.
Three DEM digital specimens were generated for each compaction
condition. From the above DEM simulation results, it can be seen
that virtual digital specimens with any specific air voids can be
obtained by outputting the simulation data at specific time steps. (a)
In this study, the heterogeneity index proposed by Thyagarajan et al.
(2010) was adopted to investigate the effects of compaction factors,
and all virtual digital specimens had the air voids of around 5%.

Effect of Gradation
The Bailey method is an aggregate grading evaluation and design
method based on plane circle model and was originally developed
by Robert D. Bailey from the Illinois Department of Transportation
in the early 1980s. The Bailey method has been considered to be
a practical approach for selecting and adjusting aggregate grada-
tions in asphalt mixture design, and has been successfully applied
to coarse-graded, fine-graded, and SMA mixtures (Vavrik 2001,
Vavrik et al. 2002; Peng et al. 2005).
In the Bailey method, aggregates are divided into three portions
(coarse aggregate, coarse portion of fine aggregate, and fine portion
of fine aggregate) by a primary control sieve and a secondary con-
trol sieve. With the proportional relationship between the divisions,
three ratios are defined: coarse aggregate ratio (CA ratio), fine ag- (b)
gregate coarse ratio (FAc ratio), and fine aggregate fine ratio (FAf
ratio). The CA ratio is the ratio of the fine part (interceptors) to the Fig. 9. Effect of CA ratios: (a) vertical heterogeneity index; (b) lateral
coarse part (pluggers) of the overall coarse aggregates and has sig- heterogeneity index
nificant effects on asphalt mixture volumetric properties and com-
pactability (Vavrik et al. 2002).
In the present study, CA ratio was used to select coarse aggre- ratios (0.1, 0.4, 0.7, and 1.0) were simulated, and the gradations are
gate and then the relationship between aggregate gradation and presented in Fig. 8.
heterogeneity of the air voids can be established through CA ratio Fig. 9 shows the scatter plots of the vertical and lateral hetero-
and heterogeneity index. Four asphalt mixtures with different CA geneity indices with different CA ratios, and Table 3 presents the

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J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 2013.25:1375-1385.

 Table 3. Correlation Analysis of Different Factors Affecting Air Void
Distribution
CA ratio/
height/diameter/
mold shape/ Vertical Lateral
compaction heterogeneity heterogeneity
Factors method index index
CA ratio
Pearson correlation 1 −0.894a −0.402
Significance (two-tailed) 0.000 0.196
Sum of squares and 1.350 −0.223 −0.035
cross-products
Covariance 0.123 −0.020 −0.003
N 12 12 12
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Height
Pearson correlation 1 0.855a −0.384
Significance (two-tailed) 0.000 0.218
Sum of squares and 6000.000 9.274 −1.996 (a)
cross-products
Covariance 545.455 0.843 −0.181
N 12 12 12
Diameter
Pearson correlation 1 −0.863a −0.950a
Significance (two-tailed) 0.000 0.000
Sum of squares and 9375.000 −8.879 −24.681
cross-products
Covariance 852.273 −0.807 −2.244
N 12 12 12
Mold shape
Pearson correlation 1 0.717 0.977a
Significance (two-tailed) 0.108 0.001
Sum of squares and 1.500 0.028 0.224
cross-products
Covariance 0.300 0.006 0.045
N 6 6 6
Compaction method
Pearson correlation 1 0.985a 0.837b
Significance (two-tailed) 0.000 0.038
Sum of squares and 1.500 0.128 0.084 (b)
cross-products
Covariance 0.300 0.026 0.017 Fig. 10. Effect of specimen height: (a) vertical heterogeneity index;
N 6 6 6 (b) lateral heterogeneity index
a
Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (two-tailed).
b
Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (two-tailed).

results show that there was no statistically significant correlation

correlation analysis results of CA ratios. From the analysis results,
it can be seen that CA ratio had strong and negative correlations
with vertical heterogeneity index, which means CA ratio had con-
siderable influence on vertical air void distribution and the high
CA ratio gradation had more uniform air void distribution. How-
ever, the effect of CA ratio on lateral air void distribution was not
statistically significant.
Effect of Specimen Height
The geometry of specimen also affects the air void distribution in
asphalt mixture specimens (Thyagarajan et al. 2010). The vertical
and lateral heterogeneity indices of digital specimens with different
heights are shown in Fig. 10. The correlation analysis results are
shown in Table 3. From correlation analysis results, a strong and
positive correlation was found between vertical heterogeneity index
and specimen height. From Fig. 10(a), it is clear that the vertical
heterogeneity index increased with the increase in specimen height,
which is similar to the results by Thyagarajan et al. (2010).
In Fig. 10(b), it seems that the lateral heterogeneity index decreased
slightly with the specimen height. However, the correlation analysis
between the lateral heterogeneity index and the specimen height.
According to the DEM simulation results, the effect of specimen
height on lateral air void distribution was not as significant as
shown by Thyagarajan et al. (2010).
Effect of Mold Size
Due to the limitation of compaction device, most studies focused
on the effect of compaction parameters related with compaction
machines and seldom on the effect of compaction mold. Never-
theless, from the above internal air void distribution analysis, it
can be seen that air voids could be affected by mold boundaries.
In order to study the edge effect on air void distribution, compac-
tion molds with four different diameters were simulated. Fig. 11
shows the results of virtual digital specimens compacted within dif-
ferent size molds (diameter ¼ 100, 125, 150, 175 mm) and Table 3
presents the correlation analysis results. Fig. 11 shows that there
was a clear edge effect on air void distribution. It can be seen that
both the vertical and the lateral heterogeneity indices decreased
with the increase in mold size and the edge effect was significant
on lateral air void distribution. This means that a big mold size

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Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Tennessee, University Of on 11/26/13. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 11. Effect of mold size: (a) vertical heterogeneity index; (b) lateral
heterogeneity index
could make more uniform air void distribution in asphalt specimens
in both vertical and lateral directions. The correlation analysis re-
sults also show a strong correlation between mold diameter and
both vertical and lateral air void distributions.
Effect of Mold Shape
The mold shape also has edge effects on asphalt mixture compac-
tion and air void distribution. Vibratory compaction is one common
asphalt mixture compaction method for making both cylindrical
and rectangular specimens. In this study, the vibratory compac-
tions with two different mold shapes were simulated by DEM. The
tetragonal and cylindrical compaction molds had equal cross-
sectional area. In DEM simulation, only flat surface walls were
available and curved surface walls should be made by combining
several flat surface walls. In this study, the tetragonal and cylindri-
cal containers were formed by combining 4 and 32 plates, respec-
tively. Fig. 12 shows the scatter plots of the vertical and lateral
heterogeneity indices with different mold shapes, and Table 3
presents the correlation analysis results. From Fig. 12, it can be
seen that the vertical heterogeneity index of digital specimen com-
pacted in a tetragonal mold was higher than that in cylindrical
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / OCTOBER 2013 / 1383
J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 2013.25:1375-1385.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 12. Effect of mold shape: (a) vertical heterogeneity index;
(b) lateral heterogeneity index
mold, but the effect is not significant. However, the lateral hetero-
geneity index of digital specimen compacted to tetragonal mold
was much higher than that in cylindrical compaction mold. The
correlation analysis results show that the lateral heterogeneity index
was strongly correlated with mold shape, and the correlation
between vertical index and mold shape did not satisfy the level of
significance of 0.01. The nonuniform lateral air void distribution
within specimen compacted in tetragonal mold may be due to
the existence of tetragonal corners which limit the movement of
aggregates in the lateral direction during compaction process.
Due to corner effect, it was hard to achieve the required density
in these areas.
Effect of Compaction Method
Gyratory and vibratory compactions are two commonly used meth-
ods for making asphalt mixture specimens. Fig. 13 shows the
vertical and the lateral heterogeneity indices of the cylindrical
specimens compacted by gyratory and vibratory compactors.
Table 3 presents the correlation analysis results of compaction
method. Form Fig. 13, it can be observed that gyratory compacted
specimens exhibited smaller vertical and lateral heterogeneity

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(a)
(b)
Fig. 13. Effect of compaction method: (a) vertical heterogeneity index;
(b) lateral heterogeneity index
indices than vibratory compacted specimens. The correlation anal-
ysis results also show that the correlation between compaction
method and both vertical and lateral heterogeneity indices were
significant at the confidence levels of 0.01 and 0.05, respectively.
The analysis results indicate that the gyratory compacted specimens
had more homogenous air void distribution than vibratory com-
pacted specimens in both vertical and lateral directions. Compared
to vibratory compaction, gyratory compaction could cause more
movement of aggregates in the horizontal direction. The ability of
aggregates to move more freely is helpful for the slippage and fill-
ing of aggregates and thus can result in better mixture compaction.
Summary and Conclusions
An open source discrete element method (DEM) code was em-
ployed to simulate asphalt mixture gyratory and vibratory compac-
tions so that the air void distribution within compacted asphalt
mixture specimens could be investigated through the virtual digital
specimens generated by DEM. Based on the DEM simulation and
statistical analysis results, the following can be concluded:
1384 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / OCTOBER 2013
J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 2013.25:1375-1385.
• The DEM prediction results in the present research agreed well
with experimental data. The DEM air void distribution showed
the same trend as that found in the literature, indicating that
the DEM could be used for analyzing air void distributions of
compacted asphalt mixtures.
• From the postprocessing of DEM generated digital specimens,
it can be seen that a bathtub-shaped vertical air void distribution
could be found in gyratory compacted specimens. The air voids
in the region close to mold boundary were much higher than
those of other regions due to the edge effect.
• CA ratio had a significant influence on vertical air void distri-
bution. Gradations with higher CA ratio resulted in more uni-
form air void distribution. The effect of CA ratio on lateral air
void distribution was not statistically significant.
• The height of an asphalt mixture specimen had a significant
effect on the vertical air void distribution.
• Both vertical and lateral heterogeneity indices decreased with
the increase in mold size. The edge effect was significant on
lateral air void distribution.
• The shape of the mold exhibited edge effect on asphalt mixture
compaction and air void distribution. Asphalt mixtures com-
pacted in cylindrical molds had more evenly distributed air
void along the lateral direction than those compacted in the
tetragonal molds.
• Compaction methods had significant effects on air void distri-
bution in both vertical and lateral distributions. The gyratory
compacted specimens had more homogenous air voids than
vibratory compacted specimens.
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