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Abstract:The finite element (FE) method has been widely used in predicting the structural responses of asphalt pavements. However, the three-dimensional (3D) modeling in general-purpose FE software systems such as ABAQUS requires extensive computations and is relatively time-consuming. To address this issue, a specific computational code EasyFEM was developed based on the finite layer method (FLM) for analyzing structural responses of asphalt pavements under a static load. Basically, it is a 3D FE code that requires only a one-dimensional (1D) mesh by incorporating analytical methods and using Fourier series in the other two dimensions, which can significantly reduce the computational time and required resources due to the easy implementation of parallel computing technology. Moreover, a newly-developed Element Energy Projection (EEP) method for super-convergent calculations was implemented in EasyFEM to improve the accuracy of solutions for strains and stresses over the whole pavement model. The accuracy of the program is verified by comparing it with results from BISAR and ABAQUS for a typical asphalt pavement structure. The results show that the predicted responses from ABAQUS and EasyFEM are in good agreement with each other. The EasyFEM with the EEP post-processing technique converges faster compared with the results derived from ordinary EasyFEM applications, which proves that the EEP technique can improve the accuracy of strains and stresses from EasyFEM. In summary, the EasyFEM has a potential to provide a flexible and robust platform for the numerical simulation of asphalt pavements and can easily be post-processed with the EEP technique to enhance its advantages.

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Traditionally, asphalt pavements are considered as linear elastic materials in finite element (FE) method to save computational time for engineering design. However, asphalt mixture exhibits linear viscoelasticity at small strain and low temperature. erefore, the results derived from the elastic analysis will inevitably lead to discrepancies from reality. Currently, several FE programs have already adopted viscoelasticity, but the high hardware demands and long execution times render them suitable primarily for research purposes. Semianalytical finite element method (SAFEM) was proposed to solve the abovementioned problem. e SAFEM is a three-dimensional FE algorithm that only requires a two-dimensional mesh by incorporating the Fourier series in the third dimension, which can significantly reduce the computational time. is paper describes the development of SAFEM to capture the viscoelastic property of asphalt pavements by using a recursive formulation. e formulation is verified by comparison with the commercial FE software ABAQUS. An application example is presented for simulations of creep deformation of the asphalt pavement. e investigation shows that the SAFEM is an efficient tool for pavement engineers to fast and reliably predict asphalt pavement responses; furthermore, the SAFEM provides a flexible, robust platform for the future development in the numerical simulation of asphalt pavements.

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