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International Journal of Pavement Engineering

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Modelling asphalt mastic stiffness using discrete

element analysis and micromechanics-based models
a b c d
Ala Abbas , Eyad Masad , Tom Papagiannakis & Aroon Shenoy
a
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, 6300 Georgetown Pike, HRDI-11 McLean, VA,
22101-2296, USA
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A and M University, 3135 TAMU, College Station, TX,
77843-3135, USA
c
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman,
WA, 99164-2910, USA
d
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, 6300 Georgetown Pike, HRDI-11, McLean, VA,
22101-2296, USA
Version of record first published: 31 Jan 2007.

To cite this article: Ala Abbas , Eyad Masad , Tom Papagiannakis & Aroon Shenoy (2005): Modelling asphalt mastic stiffness
using discrete element analysis and micromechanics-based models, International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 6:2,
137-146

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 The International Journal of Pavement Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 2, June 2005, 137–146

Modelling asphalt mastic stiffness using discrete element

analysis and micromechanics-based models
ALA ABBAS†*, EYAD MASAD‡k, TOM PAPAGIANNAKIS{# and AROON SHENOY§**

†Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, 6300 Georgetown Pike, HRDI-11 McLean, VA 22101-2296, USA
‡Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A and M University, 3135 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3135, USA
{Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2910, USA
§Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, 6300 Georgetown Pike, HRDI-11, McLean, VA 22101-2296, USA

(Received 22 November 2004; in final form 18 March 2005)

This study uses the discrete element method (DEM) to simulate the dynamic mechanical behaviour of
Downloaded by [University of Chicago] at 07:37 14 March 2013

asphalt mastics. Asphalt mastics are defined as dispersions of aggregate fillers within a medium of
asphalt binder. The fillers refer to the fraction of mineral aggregate passing the 200-mesh sieve, (i.e.
smaller than 75 mm). Mastic measurements obtained using the dynamic shear rheometer were
compared to DEM predictions and available micromechanics-based models.
Three asphalt binders (ABD-1, AAM-1 and ABM-1) and four mineral fillers (glacial gravel, granite,
limestone and greywacke) were used to prepare the mastics in this study. The stiffening effect of the
mineral fillers was investigated at different filler volume fractions.
The DEM results captured the stiffening behaviour of asphalt mastics as a function of the volumetric
concentration of mineral fillers. The DEM results exhibited a high rate of stiffening that is typically
observed in experimental measurements of mastics at relatively low volume concentrations of fillers.
Compared to the DEM results, the micromechanics-based models were not sensitive to the dynamic
shear modulus of the asphalt binder, and they underestimated the stiffening effect of the mineral fillers.

Keywords: Asphalt; Mastic; Stiffness; DEM; Simulation; Micromechanics

1. Introduction The effect of mineral fillers on the behaviour of asphalt

Asphalt mastics are defined as dispersions of aggregate
fillers within a medium of asphalt binder. The fillers refer
to the fraction of mineral aggregate passing the 200-mesh
sieve (i.e. smaller than 75 mm). Aggregate fillers vary in
mineralogy, chemical properties, shape characteristics,
size and gradation. They play an important role in
stabilizing the hot mix asphalt (HMA) by filling the voids
within the larger aggregate particles, and improving the
consistency of the binder that cements the larger aggregate
particles (Puzinauskas 1969). Furthermore, they affect the
workability, moisture sensitivity, stiffness and ageing
characteristics of HMA (Mogawer and Stuart 1996).
The effect of mineral fillers is more prominent in gap-
graded asphalt mixtures, such as the stone matrix asphalt
(SMA) mixture that contains large amounts of fines. The
interpretation of the mastic behaviour is further compli-
cated by the use of various binder modification techniques.
mastics has been extensively studied in the literature
(Rigden 1947, Harris and Stuart 1995, Shashidhar and
Romero 1998, Chen and Peng 1998, Shashidhar et al.
1999, Buttlar et al. 1999, Shashidhar and Shenoy 2002,
Kim et al. 2003, Kim and Little 2004). Efforts have been
directed towards relating the mastic behaviour to
pavement performance with regard to rutting, fatigue
and low temperature cracking. Testing asphalt mastics can
provide an insight into the interaction between the binder
and the mineral filler, which cannot be captured by testing
plain asphalt binders.
Harris and Stuart (1995) presented several means of
testing a wide range of mineral fillers and asphalt mastics
in an effort to relate performance to laboratory measured
properties. The fixed and free asphalt content analogy was
used to explain the results. Fixed asphalt content is defined
as the amount of asphalt required to fill the voids between
the mineral fillers, while free asphalt is the excess that

*Corresponding author. Tel: þ 1-202-493-3101. Fax: þ 1-202-493-3161. Email: ala.abbas@fhwa.dot.gov

kTel: þ1-979-845-8308, Fax: þ 1-979-845-0278. Email: emasad@civil.tamu.edu
#Tel: þ1-509-335-4547, Fax: þ 1-509-335-7632. Email: pappa@wsu.edu
**Tel: þ 1-202-493-3105, Fax: þ 1-202-493-3161. Email: aroon.shenoy@fhwa.dot.gov

The International Journal of Pavement Engineering

ISSN 1029-8436 print/ISSN 1477-268X online q 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
DOI: 10.1080/10298430500159040
 138 A. Abbas et al.
contributes to workability. It was presumed that high
percent voids (low free asphalt content) might lead to stiff
mixtures of low workability that are susceptible to
cracking, and that samples with low percent voids are
susceptible to bleeding or shoving.
Shashidhar and Romero (1998) used a rheology-based
model, the Nielsen model, to study the dynamic
mechanical behaviour of asphalt mastics. In brief, the
Nielsen model was fitted to mastic data of different
filler volume concentrations (filler-to-mastic ratio by
volume) through calibrating the two model parameters.
A comprehensive discussion was presented on the effect
of various filler characteristics such as average
particle size, gradation, particle shape, presence of
agglomeration, degree of dispersion and asphalt-filler
interaction on the model parameters, and consequently the
stiffening curve of the asphalt mastic. In an extension to
this study, Shashidhar et al. (1999) used the Nielsen model
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to study the same materials used by Harris and
Stuart (1995).
Chen and Peng (1998) used the direct tension tester
(DTT) to study the effect of mineral fillers on asphalt
behaviour at low temperatures. An increase in both tensile
strength and tensile strain was noticed. The unexpected
increase in tensile strain was rationalized based on the
contribution of the mineral filler towards retarding crack
propagation.
Buttlar et al. (1999) used a generalized-self consistent
scheme (GSCS) model to characterize the dynamic
mechanical behaviour of the asphalt mastic. Three
aggregate-related reinforcement mechanisms resulting in
the increased stiffness of bituminous materials were
discussed, namely volume-filling, physiochemical and
particle interaction. It was suggested that while the first is
evident in asphalt mastics, the last reinforcement
mechanism is more pronounced in asphalt mixtures,
where aggregates form a stone skeleton through which
stresses are transferred.
Kim et al. (2003) tested sand particles mixed with plain
asphalt binders and asphalt mastics. An increase in fatigue
life was noticed due to the use of mineral fillers. More
significant effect was reported for hydrated lime compared
with limestone.
Kim and Little (2004) studied the suitability of different
micromechanics and rheology-based models in character-
izing the dynamic mechanical behaviour of asphalt
mastics. The elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle
was used to translate the elastic micromechanics models
into viscoelastic models that account for the time and
temperature dependency of the asphalt mastics. It was
concluded that micromechanics models provided a good
fit to mastic data at low filler volume fractions, while
rheology-based models could capture the stiffening effect
of limestone fillers up to a volume fraction of 25%. It was
suggested that the behaviour of asphalt mastics containing
hydrated lime is controlled by physiochemical interaction,
and thus the effect of hydrated lime is highly binder
dependent.
In summary, two approaches have been used in
modelling the dynamic mechanical behaviour of asphalt
mastics namely micromechanics and rheology-based
models. Both approaches have also been extensively
used to model multi-phase composite materials such as
metal alloys, fibre-reinforced composites, bitumen-water
emulsions, polymer modified asphalts, asphalt mastics and
even asphalt mixtures. The first was developed to
characterize composites of solid phases, while the latter
have been utilized to model composites of solid particles
dispersed in liquids. As reported by Lewis and Nielsen
(1970), the relative increase in the composite effective
modulus with respect to the matrix modulus has
been shown to be equivalent to the relative increase in
the composite effective viscosity with respect to the
matrix viscosity. Hence, both approaches could
potentially be used to model the asphalt mastic behaviour
over a broad range of temperatures within which the
material might behave as a solid-like or liquid-like
composite.
In this study, the mechanical behaviour of asphalt
mastics was simulated using the discrete element method
(DEM). This was achieved by using different material
properties representing the binders and the fillers used in
this study. The effect of the volume fraction of the mineral
fillers on the stiffness of the mastic was captured by using
appropriate binder and filler proportions that reflect the
target volume fraction. Finally, experimental data were
compared to the DEM simulation results and micro-
mechanics models. It is believed that studying the
interaction among the mix constituents through DEM
might provide better understanding of the behaviour of
asphalt mastics, and hence their performance.
2. Objectives
The main two objectives of this study are, to:
(1) Develop a methodology to capture the dynamic
mechanical behaviour of asphalt mastics using the discrete
element technique and compare simulation results to
experimental mastic data.
(2) Study the sensitivity of different micromechanics-
based models, available in the literature, to the dynamic
shear modulus of the asphalt binder, and compare the
model predictions to DEM results and mastic data.
3. Experimental data
Three asphalt binders (ABD-1, AAM-1 and ABM-1) and
four aggregates (glacial gravel, granite, limestone and
greywacke referred to as RF, RA, RD and RH,
respectively) were used in this study. Binders and
aggregates were obtained from the SHRP materials
reference library. Aggregates were ground and the
material passing sieve No. 200 was used as mineral
fillers. Asphalt mastic specimens were fabricated by
 Modelling asphalt mastic stiffness
Table 1. Rheological properties of the unaged plain asphalt binders
measured using the DSR at a radial frequency of 10rad/sec.
Temperature 258C
Dynamic shear modulus, jG*j Phase angle, d
Binder type (MPa) (degrees)
ABD-1 2.049 77.1
AAM-1 1.039 61.5
ABM-1 2.804 76.6
All measurements are based on four replicates.
mixing each binder type with all four mineral fillers,
resulting in 12 asphalt-filler combinations. The amount of
fillers to be added to the binder was controlled in order to
attain nine filler volume fractions: 0, 6, 11, 17, 21, 25, 27,
29 and 31%. To produce representative specimens, the
asphalt binder, in its unaged state, and the mineral fillers
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were both heated to a temperature of 1658C, followed by
mixing and stirring as the blend cooled down. The
resulting asphalt mastic was then poured into silicone
rubber moulds to make pellets for testing in the dynamic
shear rheometer (DSR). Strain sweep data was obtained
using a Rheometrics RDA II DSR at a temperature of 258C
using plates of 8 mm diameter. Testing was limited to the
intermediate temperature of 258C in order to avoid settling
of aggregate fillers while testing, as is the case in the
rotational viscometer (RV) run at high temperatures, and
while moulding, as is the case in the bending beam
Figure 1. Particle shape of the mineral fillers tested in this study (a) granite—RA (b) limestone—RD (c) glacial gravel—RF (d) greywacke—RH.
139
rheometer (BBR) at low temperatures. All tests were
performed within the linear viscoelastic range.
Experimental measurements of the dynamic shear
modulus, jG*j, and the phase angle, d, were recorded for
all binders and mastics at a radial frequency of 10rad/s.
Rheological measurements of the unaged plain asphalt
binders are presented in table 1. The highest coefficient of
variation (standard deviation/average) of 5.1% for jG*j
was obtained for ABD-1 binder, and the highest
coefficient of variation of 0.4% for d was obtained for
AAM-1 binder. The reader is referred to references
(Shashidhar et al. 1999, Shashidhar and Shenoy 2002) for
further details on the specimen fabrication and testing.
Images of the fillers were captured using a scanning
electron microscope (SEM). Example images are
presented in figure 1. Shape and texture varied from
particle to particle within the same filler sample. Based on
scanning a large number of particles, it was noticed that
the granite has relatively flat surfaces with sharp edges,
greywacke tends to be present in agglomerates of
relatively small-size particles, and glacial gravel particles
are somewhat round-shaped.
Figures 2 –4 present the stiffening curves for all asphalt-
filler combinations. It can be seen that the rate of increase
in the mastic modulus increases with the increase in the
filler volume fraction, and that different fillers result in
different stiffening curves. Higher variations among the
fillers are noticed at high filler volume fractions.
Relatively speaking, greywacke has the highest stiffening
 140 A. Abbas et al.
Figure 2. Stiffening curve for the unaged ABD-1 binder mixed with
four mineral fillers: granite (RA), limestone (RD), glacial gravel (RF) and
greywacke (RH).
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Figure 3. Stiffening curve for the unaged AAM-1 binder mixed with
four mineral fillers: granite (RA), limestone (RD), glacial gravel (RF) and
greywacke (RH).
Figure 4. Stiffening curve for the unaged ABM-1 binder mixed with
four mineral fillers: granite (RA), limestone (RD), glacial gravel (RF) and
greywacke (RH).
effect, followed by the granite and the glacial gravel, then
the limestone. The highest stiffening ratios are obtained
for the ABM-1 binder, which is also the stiffest.
4. Discrete element simulation of asphalt mastics
DEM is a finite difference scheme, used to model the
interaction among assemblies of discrete particles. It is
based on successively solving Newton’s second law (law
of motion) for each particle and the force-displacement
law for every contact. An explicit time stepping scheme
is employed to integrate Newton’s second law for each
particle, given a set of contact forces acting on the particle,
which results in the updated particles’ positions and
velocities. Based on the new positions, the relative
displacements of each pair of particles are calculated, and
used to obtain the contact forces. For this purpose linear or
nonlinear force-displacement laws might be utilized. In
this study, a commercial discrete element code called
Particle Flow Code in 2 – Dimensions (PFC2D) was used.
The discussion presented herein is limited to the
simulation of asphalt mastics; interested readers are
referred to Abbas (2004) for further information about the
operational principles of PFC2D. Discrete element models
are defined by three aspects namely, model geometry,
contact material properties, and boundary and loading
conditions. These aspects are discussed next in detail.
4.1 Model geometry
In this study, the model geometry was generated in PFC2D
using an arrangement of in-plane circular particles defined
by a unique identification number, the Cartesian
coordinates of the center, a radius, and a thickness (i.e.
cylinders in 3D). A built-in particle-generation algorithm
was used to create this geometry. Using this algorithm,
particle location was randomly selected, whereas if the
newly generated particle was found to overlap with a
previously generated one, another location was selected at
random. The default number of trials to fit each particle
was 20,000. If this number of trials was exceeded, the
analysis would stop and an error message would be
displayed. Asphalt mastics were simulated using a
combination of stiff and soft particles, representing the
aggregate filler and the binder phases, respectively.
As shown in figure 5, a total of 7883 cylindrical
particles, measuring 100 mm in diameter and a thickness
of unity, were randomly generated within four walls
separated by a horizontal distance of 6 mm and a vertical
distance of 12 mm. The upper and lower walls simulated
the loading platens, whereas the sidewalls were used to
apply a constant confinement pressure. Model dimensions
were selected to ensure a height/diameter ratio greater
than or equal to two in order to minimize boundary effects
on the model predictions. In addition, the particle diameter
of 100 mm was determined as the smallest size below
which no change in the model’s accuracy was observed.
The selection of this particle size was also motivated by
 Modelling asphalt mastic stiffness
Downloaded by [University of Chicago] at 07:37 14 March 2013
Figure 5. Example of a DEM mastic model consisting of 52% fillers by
volume.
the need to conduct the analysis in a reasonable length of
time (i.e. 3 –4 h).
The effect of the filler volume fraction was incorporated
through the use of appropriate binder and filler proportions
that reflect the target volume fraction, which was calculated
by dividing the filler volume by the total volume (i.e. binder,
fillers and voids). Concentrations ranging from 0 to 52% were
considered in the analysis. Care was taken to ensure the
randomness of the filler phase within the assembly.
4.2 Contact material property
Contact models in PFC2D are activated whenever the
distance between the centroids of two adjacent particles is
less than or equal to the sum of their radii (i.e. the two
particles overlap). The linear contact model is used to
simulate the interaction among particles. This model is
defined by two stiffness parameters for each particle in the
normal and tangential directions. The former is referred to
as the normal stiffness, which relates the normal force to
the normal displacement, and the latter is referred to as the
shear stiffness, which relates the shear force to the shear
displacement. For each contact, an effective normal and
shear contact stiffness is calculated from the particles’
stiffnesses assuming that they act in series:
K ½1
½2

n Kn
Kn ¼
K n þ K ½2

½1

n by changing the stiffness of the elastic contacts. This can
K ½1
½2

s Ks
Ks ¼ : ð2Þ
K ½1

s þ Ks
½2

Where K n and K s ¼ effective normal and shear
contact stiffnesses, respectively; K ½1
½2

n and K n ¼ normal
141
stiffnesses of particles 1 and 2, respectively and K ½1
s and
K ½2

s ¼ shear stiffnesses of particles 1 and 2, respectively.
Contact bonds were also used between the particles.
The contact bond parameters include normal and shear
strength. These values serve as threshold for contact
breakage; the contact breaks once the magnitude of the
tensile or shear force exceeds the respective strength
parameters defined for that contact. Since the analysis in
this study is limited to the linear response where no contact
breakage is expected, very high contact bonds were included
between the model particles. The use of high contact bond
parameters implies that the same contact stiffness model is
active in both tension and compression and that particle
sliding due to shear is suppressed.
The ratio of shear stiffness to normal stiffness
(a ¼ K s/K n) is a function of the material Poisson’s ratio
(np) (Mindlin and Deresiewicz 1953):
K s 2ð1 2 np Þ
a¼ ¼ : ð3Þ
Kn ð2 2 np Þ
Where np was assumed to be 0.15 for the filler particles
(a ¼ 0.92), and 0.45 for the binder particles (a ¼ 0.71).
The filler contact stiffness parameters were determined by
developing a model consisting of only filler particles, and
varying the K s and K n values until a filler-only shear
modulus of about 25 GPa, a typical value for the filler
shear modulus (Zhou et al. 1995, Kim and Little 2004),
was obtained. It is worth mentioning however, that
varying the filler shear modulus within the range 15–
30 GPa was found to have insignificant effect on the
computed effective modulus of the asphalt mastic. The
same procedure was followed to determine the binder K s
and K n values. In this case, the target binder-only shear
modulus values were varied from lower than 1.0 MPa to
higher than 2.8 MPa to encompass the range of measured
binder stiffnesses (table 1). Table 2 presents the contact
stiffness parameters used in the simulation. Model
calibration was necessary to account for the differences
between the actual material response and the DEM model
prior to simulating the mastic behaviour. The DEM model
was two-dimensional and hence, did not include one out-
of-plane translational and two out-of-plane rotational
degrees of freedom. The model calibration was also used
to reduce the influence of the particle shape and size on the
model predictions, and to inherently account for the effect
of frequency through matching elastic model predictions
to viscoelastic material stiffnesses measured at a particular
frequency.
In this study, the influence of fillers was accounted for
ð1Þ
only be done if there is a negligible difference in the phase
angle of the asphalt binders and those of the corresponding
mastics. It has been shown that most fillers affect the
stiffness of the binder (the magnitude of the dynamic
modulus) rather than its phase angle (Buttlar et al. 1999,
Kim and Little 2004). This finding was confirmed in
the experimental measurements used in this study as
 142
Table 2. Filler and binder stiffness parameters and dem shear modulus predictions.
Particle type Shear particle stiffness Ks (N/m)
11
Aggregate 1.92 £ 10
Binder 1.66 £ 109
1.66 £ 108
1.66 £ 107
1.66 £ 106
the mastics had phase angles that were less than those of
the asphalt binders by only a maximum of 5%.
4.3 Boundary and loading conditions
Four walls were used to load the asphalt mastic model.
This was achieved in two stages, namely the compaction
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stage and the loading stage. In the compaction stage, all
four walls were controlled using a simulated numerical
“servo– control” mechanism, whereby the velocity of
these walls was updated within each calculation cycle
enough to maintain a target confining stress level of
0.1 MPa. This step is necessary to ensure an initial
isotropic stress-state and isotropic distribution of
particles. Horizontal and vertical stresses were calculated
by dividing the average reaction forces on the sidewalls
and also the upper and lower walls, respectively, by the
area of the corresponding pair of walls. If the resulting
stress level along either direction exceeded the target
stress level, the corresponding pair of walls was moved
outward and vice versa. Once the absolute relative
difference (i.e. error), between the target and the
measured stresses was smaller than a predefined
tolerance, cycling was stopped and the model height
and width was recorded. It was noticed that more
calculation cycles were required to achieve equilibrium at
high filler/binder stiffness ratios.
The solution is advanced in PFC2D using an explicit
time-stepping technique that is conditionally stable. For
the solution to remain stable, the time step should not
exceed the critical time step, which is continuously
changing within the analysis. PFC2D utilizes a simplified
procedure to estimate the critical time step for each particle
from its mass and stiffnesses at the start of each
calculation cycle. The estimated critical time step for
each particle is proportional to the square root of a
particle’s mass and inversely related to the square root of
the particle’s stiffness. The minimum time step for all
particles is taken as the final critical time step. The actual
time step in any cycle is taken as a fraction of the
estimated time step. In this work, model stability, and thus
the number of calculation cycles to reach equilibrium, was
greatly enhanced using differential density scaling. This
option is only suitable for quasi-static problems, in which
the final steady-state solution is of interest. Differential
density scaling is based on modifying the inertial mass
value in the law of motion to reach a stable solution using
A. Abbas et al.
Normal particle stiffness Kn (N/m) Predicted shear modulus G (MPa)
11
2.08 £ 10 25636.17
2.34 £ 109 276.71
2.34 £ 108 36.58
2.34 £ 107 4.71
2.34 £ 106 0.81
an analysis time step of unity (i.e. 1 s), equation (4).
As opposed to the gravitational mass that is equal to the
actual mass of the particle and contributes to the body
forces in the law of motion, the inertial mass contributes
to the inertia forces. In the absence of differential
density scaling, the inertial mass is equal to the
gravitational mass.
F ¼ m i x€ 2 m g g ð4Þ
where, F ¼ resultant force; x€ ¼ particle accelaration; and
g ¼ body force accelaration and m i and m g ¼ particle
inertial and gravitational masses, repectively.
In the loading stage, the same level of confinement (i.e.
0.1 MPa) was applied through the side walls, while the
upper and lower walls were freed from the servo-control
mechanism. The velocity of the upper and lower walls was
increased at a constant rate until reaching a final velocity
of 1025 mm/s, which is also equivalent to 1025 mm/step
due to the use of the differential density scaling. Wall
velocity is defined as the distance travelled by a wall
within the analysis time step. During the loading stage, the
difference between the vertical and the horizontal stresses
(i.e. the deviatoric stress) and the axial strain were
monitored. Axial strain was calculated by dividing the
change in the model height by its initial height at the
beginning of the loading stage.
It was found necessary to apply 2.5% strain in order to
exhibit linear elastic response. The application of smaller
strain levels resulted in deformation mainly due to particle
rearrangement to reach equilibrium, and did not reflect the
actual response of the material.
The elastic mastic modulus was calculated by dividing
the deviatoric stress by the axial strain. The corresponding
shear modulus was calculated by dividing the elastic
modulus by 2(1 þ n), where n is an assumed Poisson’s
ratio of 0.45 for the composite. Since linear contacts
were used in the model, the material properties were
not affected by the confinement level applied by the
sidewalls.
Figure 6 presents the DEM results obtained at different
filler volume fractions using several filler/binder stiffness
ratios. It is noted that the DEM results exhibit a high rate
of stiffening that is typically observed in experimental
measurements of mastics at relatively low volume
concentrations of fillers (i.e. around 0.2) (Buttlar et al.
1999, Kim and Little 2004). As will be discussed later, the
 Modelling asphalt mastic stiffness 143
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Figure 6. Asphalt mastic stiffness ratios predicted using the discrete element method.

inability of describing this high rate stiffening has been the
major limitation of the micromechanics models (Masad
and Niranjanan 2002).
Since the DEM predictions were obtained using
calibrated dynamic shear moduli (table 2) that are
different than those of the plain asphalt binders (table 1),
interpolation was used to predict the stiffening curves of
asphalt binders presented in table 1. Figures 7 –9 present
the quality of fit for the discrete element predictions to
asphalt mastic data. A good fit is depicted in figure 7 to
mastic data prepared using unaged ABD-1 binder. DEM
predictions, on the other hand, overestimated the stiffen-
ing of the unaged AAM-1 binder (figure 8) and
underestimated the stiffening of the unaged ABM-1
binder (figure 9). In these figures, simulation results are
presented beyond the available experimental range in
order to demonstrate that a vertical asymptote is reached at
high filler volume concentrations using the DEM, similar
to that reported by Shashidhar and Shenoy (2002) and
justified through using the Percolation theory.
5. Micromechanics-based models
Three micromechanics-based models are presented in this
section for comparison with the DEM simulation results
and asphalt mastic rheological measurements.
5.1 Lower-bound hashin model
This model is conceptualized on variational principles
that utilize classical minimum theorems to minimize
the strain energy within a composite in order to
estimate bound limits for the effective elastic moduli.

Figure 7. Asphalt mastic stiffness ratios measured using the DSR and predicted using the discrete element method; unaged ABD-1 binder and four
mineral fillers.
 144 A. Abbas et al.

Figure 8. Asphalt mastic stiffness ratios measured using the DSR and predicted using the discrete element method; unaged AAM-1 binder and four
Downloaded by [University of Chicago] at 07:37 14 March 2013

mineral fillers.

A wide range of models belonging to this category is binder; Gf ¼ shear modulus of the aggregate filler;
available in the literature. In this study the lower-bound Km* ¼ dynamic bulk modulus of the asphalt binder;
Hashin model presented by Hashin and Shtrikman ff ¼ filler volume fraction and nm ¼ binder Poisson’s
(1963) is discussed. This model relates the composite ratio.
shear modulus, Gc* ; to the micormechanical material
properties as follows:
5.2 Generalized self-consistent scheme (GSCS) model
ff
Gc* ¼ G*m þ
 ð5Þ Generalized self-consistent scheme models are based on a
6 K* þ2G *
m m multi-layer spherical composite embedded in an infinite
1
þ
 ð1 2 ff Þ
Gf 2G*
m 5Gm 3K m þ4G*
* * homogeneous medium of unknown effective properties.
m
The derivation follows from the assumption that the strain
energy of the infinite medium is equal to the strain energy
* ¼ 2ð1 2 nm Þ * of the composite with no inclusion. The first analytical
Km G ð6Þ formulation of such models is credited to Christensen and
3ð1 2 2nm Þ m
Lo (1979, 1986) who derived a self-consistent scheme
where, Gc* ¼ dynamic shear modulus of the asphalt model for two-phase elastic materials. As is the case in the
mastic; G*m ¼ dynamic shear modulus of the asphalt variational models, this model satisfies equilibrium and

Figure 9. Asphalt mastic stiffness ratios measured using the DSR and predicted using the discrete element method; unaged ABM-1 binder and four
mineral fillers.
 Modelling asphalt mastic stiffness
Figure 10. Effect of the dynamic shear modulus of the asphalt binder on the predictions of three micromechanical-based models;
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Hashin Model, GSCS Model, and Inverse Rule of Mixtures (Gf ¼ 25 GPa, nf ¼ 0.15, and nm ¼ 0.45).
continuity equations. A rather lengthy set of equations
is used to predict the relative increase in the effective shear
modulus with respect to the dynamic shear modulus of the
binder:
!2 !
G*c G*c
A þB þC ¼0
G* m G* m within the ranges used in this study.
where, A, B and C are functions of the material properties
(shear modulus and Poisson’s ratio) of the filler and the
matrix, and the filler volume fraction.
5.3 Inverse rule of mixtures
The inverse rule of mixtures model is based on a simplistic
representation of the material phases by a combination of
springs connected in series (Gibson 1994). At the
interface, stress uniformity is assumed. This model
accounts for the relative volume fraction of the filler and
the binder phases through the following expression:
1 ð1 2 ff Þ ff
¼ þ
G * G* Gf
c m
where, all parameters have been previously defined.
5.4 Sensitivity analysis of micromechanics models
Results of the micromechanics models described above
were compared to experimental mastic measurements
over a range of filler volume fractions and binder dynamic
shear moduli. Predictions were obtained using a Poisson’s
ratio of 0.15 and 0.45 for the filler and the binder,
respectively, and an elastic shear modulus of 25 GPa for
the filler. Figure 10 shows that all three models
underestimate the stiffening effect of the mineral fillers.
This was expected because they do not consider
145
Lower-Bound
the interaction among the filler particles within the
composite. The difference between model predictions and
measurements increased at higher filler volume fractions.
Nevertheless, better estimates were obtained using the
GSCS model than the other two models. Figure 10 also
shows that these models tend to be insensitive to the
ð7Þ changes in the dynamic shear moduli of the asphalt binder
6. Summary and conclusions
The dynamic mechanical behaviour of asphalt mastics
was studied using the DEM to explicitly model the
interaction between mineral filler particles and binders.
The analysis focused on the effect of binder stiffness and
mineral filler volume fraction on the overall mastic
stiffness. The predicted dynamic shear modulus of the
mastic was shown to be highly dependent on the dynamic
shear modulus of the binder, in agreement with
experimental data. Furthermore, the DEM model captured
the exponential effect of the mineral filler volume fraction
on the mastic stiffness as experimentally observed.
ð8Þ
The behaviour of asphalt mastics was also studied using
three micromechanics-based models, namely the lower-
bound Hashin model, the generalized self-consistent
scheme model, and the inverse rule of mixtures. Compared
to the DEM results, the micromechanics-based models
were not sensitive to the changes in the dynamic shear
moduli of the asphalt binder within the ranges used in this
study. Also, the micromechanics models underestimated
the stiffening effect of the mineral fillers.
Acknowledgements
The first author would like to acknowledge the financial
assistance of the National Highway Institute (NHI) and the
 146 A. Abbas et al.
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) throughout his
Eisenhower Graduate Research Fellowship. The authors
would like also to thank Mr. Tom Harman from Turner –
Fairbank Highway Research Center for his valuable
comments and Dr. Clay Ormsby for his help with the
scanning electron microscope.
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