To enhance the accuracy and reliability of the discrete element simulation software EDEM 2023 for pavement asphalt mixture simulation, three representative coarse aggregate particles were modeled in 3D using the SolidWorks 2018 software and imported into the EDEM 2023 software for particle filling. The Hertz–Mindlin with bonding contact model was used to construct the EDEM simulation model of asphalt mixtures, and the quadratic regression model of asphalt mixtures’ splitting tensile strength and four bonding parameters, namely, normal stiffness per unit area, shear stiffness per unit area, critical normal stress, and critical shear stress, was found by the response surface methodology. The results show that the relationship between the significance magnitude of the four bonding parameters on the splitting tensile strength of the asphalt mixture simulation model is as follows: critical normal stress > shear stiffness per unit area > normal stiffness per unit area > critical shear stress. The calibration results of the bonding parameters were used for simulation verification, and the relative error between the simulation and actual splitting tensile strength was only −2.48%. The feasibility of this bonding parameter calibration method is demonstrated, and it can lay a foundation for EDEM to simulate the performance of asphalt mixtures on pavements with high-precision simulation.
The service years of the milled pavement are varied in numerous SBS modified asphalt pavement milling assignments. To investigate the milling characteristics of SBS (styrene–butadiene–styrene) modified asphalt pavements with different service years, the values of the bonding parameters were calibrated and verified and then used to build three simulation models for the milling of old asphalt pavements with service years of 2~3 years, 7~8 years, and 11~12 years, respectively. The milling characteristics of SBS modified asphalt pavements with different service years were investigated using the moving speed and rotating speed of the milling rotor as test factors, and the particle bonding ratio () and rotor average force () as test indexes. The results demonstrate that the following: The regularity of the effects of milling rotor moving speed and rotating speed on the particle bonding ratio and milling rotor average forces remained consistent overall as the pavement age increased. For the same milling parameters, the particle bonding ratio and the rotor average force are reduced. From 2~3 years old pavements to 7~8 years old pavements, the overall reduction in the particle bonding ratio indicator is about 12%, and the average force on the milling rotor is about 24%. From 7~8 years old pavements to 11~12 years old pavements, the overall reduction in the particle bonding ratio indicator is about 3%, and the average force on the milling rotor is about 15%.