A Creep Model of Asphalt Mixture Based on Variable Order Fractional Derivative

In order to quantitatively describe the time-varying mechanical properties of asphalt mixture during creep process, a nonlinear viscoelastoplastic creep model was proposed, by using variable-order fractional calculus. The differential order of the variable-order fractional element of the model is no longer constant, but a variable that changes with time, which reflects the changes of the mechanical properties of the material during the creep process. Whereas the tertiary creep phase is modeled by the viscoplastic element with time-varying viscosity, which is attributed to damage evolution. The uniaxial creep compression tests of AC-13C asphalt mixture under different stress levels (0.7 MPa, 0.9 MPa, 1.1 MPa, 1.3 MPa, 1.5 MPa, 1.7 MPa) were carried out with MTS-809 testing machine at 25 degrees C, and the test results were analyzed by the model using Levenberg-Marquardt optimization algorithm. It is shown that creep damage occurs when the applied stress exceeds a certain critical value, and the damage incubation time depends on the applied stress level. The higher stress decreases the damage incubation time. The model is in good agreement with the experimental results, and is applicable to describe the entire creep process, which consists of primary, steady and tertiary stages. Moreover, the variation of the model parameter can describe the change of viscoelastic properties of the material during the creep process. The differential order of the variable-order fractional element is constant during the primary creep stage, indicating that the creep behavior of the asphalt mixture is linear viscoelastic in small strain range. For the same stress level, the fractional order of the steady creep stage is greater than that of the primary creep stage, and it increases with the increasing stress level, which shows that the viscous behavior in the steady creep is more remarkable than that in the primary creep, and the higher the stress level, the more prominent the viscous performance exhibits.