Isolated contact model of an idealized asphalt mix

The isolated contact modelling approach, first developed for analysis of powder compaction, is applied to model the deformation behaviour of an idealized asphalt mix. The deformation characteristics of thin films of nonlinear viscous bitumen (established elsewhere) are employed as the microscopic contact model. An isolated contact model is derived to describe the deformation of an idealized mix subject to axisymmetric loadings. Results are presented for mixes having isotropic and anisotropic microstructures. The evolution of anisotropy in initially isotropic mixes is also discussed. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.