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Monitoring methods and micro-scale evolution mechanisms of rutting in asphalt mixtures: Smart aggregates and DEM

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Chao Zhang

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Abstract

Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier B.V. The smart aggregate (SA) is a novel sensor for multi-source monitoring in pavements, yet the cross-scale contact mechanisms between the SA and asphalt mixture, and their role in rutting evaluation, are not fully understood. This study conducts rutting tests on double-layer asphalt mixtures with embedded SA sensors and introduces a reliability index (RI) to quantify rutting depth evolution from multi-source data. The discrete element method (DEM) is further employed to investigate both the rutting mechanism and microscale contacts between the SA and surrounding particles. Results show that the proposed RI provides an accurate assessment of rutting depth evolution. Moreover, SA sensor responses serve as a cross-scale bridge, linking microscopic contact behaviour with macroscopic rutting progression, thereby revealing that variations in microscale contact fundamentally govern the observed monitoring outcomes.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Wang N, Zhang C, Li Q, Ma T, Wang J

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Powder Technology

Year: 2026

Volume: 469

Issue: Part 1

Print publication date: 01/02/2026

Online publication date: 14/10/2025

Acceptance date: 13/10/2025

ISSN (print): 0032-5910

ISSN (electronic): 1873-328X

Publisher: Elsevier BV

URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2025.121770

DOI: 10.1016/j.powtec.2025.121770

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