Artificial Intelligence-Based Model for the Prediction of Dynamic Modulus of Stone Mastic Asphalt

Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) is a tough, stable, rut-resistant mixture that takes advantage of the stone-to-stone contact to provide strength and durability for the material. Besides, the warm mix asphalt (WMA) technology allows reducing emissions and energy consumption by reducing the production temp...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Thanh-Hai Le, Hoang-Long Nguyen, Binh Thai Pham, May Huu Nguyen, Cao-Thang Pham, Ngoc-Lan Nguyen, Tien-Thinh Le, Hai-Bang Ly
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/15/5242
Description
Summary:Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) is a tough, stable, rut-resistant mixture that takes advantage of the stone-to-stone contact to provide strength and durability for the material. Besides, the warm mix asphalt (WMA) technology allows reducing emissions and energy consumption by reducing the production temperature by 30–50 °C, compared to conventional hot mix asphalt technology (HMA). The dynamic modulus |E*| has been acknowledged as a vital material property in the mechanistic-empirical design and analysis and further reflects the strains and displacements of such layered pavement structures. The objective of this study is twofold, aiming at favoring the potential use of SMA with WMA technique. To this aim, first, laboratory tests were conducted to compare the performance of SMA and HMA through the dynamic modulus. Second, an advanced hybrid artificial intelligence technique to accurately predict the dynamic modulus of asphalt mixtures was developed. This hybrid model (ANN-TLBO) was based on an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithm and Teaching Learning Based Optimization (TLBO) technique. A database containing the as-obtained experimental tests (96 data) was used for the development and assessment of the ANN-TLBO model. The experimental results showed that SMA mixtures exhibited higher values of the dynamic modulus |E*| than HMA, and the WMA technology increased the dynamic modulus values compared with the hot technology. Furthermore, the proposed hybrid algorithm could successfully predict the dynamic modulus with remarkable values of R<sup>2</sup> of 0.989 and 0.985 for the training and testing datasets, respectively. Lastly, the effects of temperature and frequency on the dynamic modulus were evaluated and discussed.
ISSN:2076-3417