Abstract:
Within the pavement engineering community, open graded mixes (OGM) are regarded as mixes capable of reducing noise and improving wet skid resistance. However, during their design life, these asphalt mixes are known to suffer from a particular distress type known as raveling. This results in a premature failure of a road network. In order to study the propensity of OGM to raveling, homogenization-based approaches are considered to be accessible and effective. One of the most widely accepted homogenization models for asphalt concrete is proposed by Christensen et al. Several studies related to homogenization techniques have been conducted in the past; however, to the best of the authors’ knowledge not a lot of attention has been paid to the study of OGM by means of homogenization models. The other limitation of the Christensen model is that some parameters are difficult to physically understand. Under the above realization, the objective of the paper is twofold: (1) to propose a modification of the Christensen model for OGM; and (2) to verify the modified model’s capability in predicting the mechanical properties of OGM. In general, it was found that once the proposed factor is calibrated for a given OGM by laboratory tests the obtained results are accurate.
