Mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced asphalt concrete: Finite element simulation and experimental study

Polymer fiber reinforcement can elevate the pavement performance indicators of asphalt concrete, including low temperature crack resistance, high temperature stability, and water stability. Fiber-reinforced asphalt concrete (FRAC) is a suitable solution to improve the road performance of asphalt concrete. However, the mechanism of the fiber parameters in asphalt concrete has still not been introduced. Herein we studied the influence of fiber geometry characteristics on improving the mechanical properties of asphalt concrete through numerical simulation. The finite element method (FEM) was used to establish an elastoplastic mesoscopic model for indirect tensile test of the asphalt mixtures via ABAQUS. The best fiber length, volume ratio, diameter, and modulus were confirmed based on the simulated results. Furthermore, the indirect tensile tests were undertaken to prove the influence of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber parameters on the FRAC’s splitting stability. This study fills the gap between theoretical simulations and laboratory experiments, and it is a promising solution to improve engineered FRAC road performance.