Course Content

Modern computational techniques, such as the finite element method, demand sophisticated constitutive models for realistic model-based simulations. In modern mechanics literature and in most commercially available finite element software packages, an abundance of constitutive models is encountered. Unfortunately, quite often, the mathematical formulation of these models can be quite forbidding for the uninitiated user. Advanced material models also require state-of-the-art characterization techniques which capture the three-dimensional and multi-scale material response.

The course aims at engineers, scientists, and researchers who want to familiarize themselves with the mathematics, computational methods and characterization techniques associated with constitutive modeling of asphaltic materials. This is of paramount importance for the pavement design community as it moves to mechanistic-empirical and, ultimately, fully mechanistic pavement modeling.

In the course, a team of international experts shall explain the mathematical fundamentals and state-of-the-art material characterization techniques of asphaltic materials. The course includes hands-on laboratory sessions.

Course organizers:

Eyad Masad & Dallas Little - Texas A&M University, USA

Tom Scarpas & Niki Kringos - TU Delft, The Netherlands: