Microwave heating simulation of asphalt pavements

Microwave heating is a promising heating technology for the maintenance, recycling and deicing of pavement structures. Many experimental studies have been conducted to investigate the microwave heating properties of asphalt mixtures in the laboratory. However, very few studies investigated the application of microwave heating on asphalt pavements. This study aims to simulate microwave heating of paving materials using the finite element method. Results show that the developed three-dimensional model, which couples the physics of electromagnetic waves and heat transfer, shows a great potential for optimizing the design of microwave heating prototypes for pavement applications.Accepted Author ManuscriptPavement Engineerin