Asphalt mixture has complex gradation and mesostructure. Accurate prediction of the relationship between gradation and mesostructure is of great significance for the establishment of mesostructure numerical simulation model and image-based gradation detection. In this paper, featurization, stepwise regression, econometric hypothesis test are utilized for establishing the predicting models. Firstly, asphalt mixtures with 64 kinds of gradation are scanned by Computed Tomography (CT) to obtain the mesostructure images; Then a series of mesostructure parameters of voids and aggregates are put forward. On this basis, the relationship model between gradation and mesostructure is established and verified by featurization and statistical modeling method. The results show that for predicting the passing percentage of the 4.75 mm sieve and the mean value of average distance between aggregate centroids for 9.5–4.75 mm aggregates, the prediction error of passing percentage is acceptable. It illustrates that the relationship model between gradation and mesostructure established by statistical method is effective, and it is significance for material design and testing under the condition of big data in the future.

The bending and tensile properties of asphalt mixture affect the service quality and life of asphalt pavement, and its internal stress determines the bending and tensile performance. In order to investigate the internal stress characteristics of asphalt mixtures, this paper adopted the discrete element method to quantitatively evaluate the force chains of each component in asphalt mixtures under the three-point bending mode. Firstly, it constructed a template library of coarse aggregates based on image recognition and realized efficient three-dimensional modeling of asphalt mixture specimen and proposed a three-point bending simulation method. Then the internal force chain distribution of asphalt mixture was visually represented, and data of force chains of each component were extracted. The force chain characteristics were analyzed from the three aspects of composition, strength, and angle. The results show that under the three-point bending mode, the internal force chain field of asphalt mixture exhibits tension and compression zones, and the extrusion of aggregates only takes effect in the compressed zone. 70.8% of the internal contact force of SMA 13 asphalt mixture is provided by the asphalt mortar, and that of AC13 asphalt mixture is 83.2%, indicating that coarse aggregates have little effect under bending and tensile stress and asphalt mortar plays a major role in resisting external loads. The proportion of force chains decrease as the strength increased, and the proportion of strong force chains in the interior of the mortar and the mortar-aggregate interface position is basically the same. The stress between coarse aggregates is uneven, and the mortar plays a significant role in ensuring uniform stress within the asphalt mixture. The strength of horizontal force chains at the aggregate-mortar interface is slightly higher than that in the vertical direction, and the strength of aggregate force chains fluctuates greatly with the change of angle. Asphalt mortar bears the main load during bending and tensile force of asphalt mixture and the research findings can serve as a reference for the structural design and performance evaluation of asphalt mixtures.