Stone-based paving materials, including unbound aggregates, asphalt concrete and hydraulic cement concrete, have been widely used in road construction. These materials have a similar material structure, including a stone or aggregate skeleton, a binding medium and air voids. At the macroscopic scale, these materials are modelled using different phenomenological models. However, at the microscopic scale, research methods can be unified.
This special issue includes nine papers focusing on three major stone-based materials, i.e. unbound aggregates, asphalt concrete and hydraulic cement concrete. The papers appropriately address the recent developments in the applications of microstructure characterisation- and micromechanics-based approaches to behaviour modelling and simulation of stone-based paving materials. Analysis methods used include the finite element method, the discrete element method, molecular dynamics simulation and digital imaging techniques to cover exploration of morphological and interface properties and the integration of microstructure into modelling.
We would like to thank the authors and individual reviewers for their dedication and contributions of their time and effort to ensure the high technical quality of the papers in this special issue. In addition, sincere thanks are extended to Tom Scarpas and Imad Al-Qadi, Editors-in-Chief, for their support and guidance.