A thermodynamically compatible rate type fluid to describe the response of asphalt

In this paper, we develop two models from a thermodynamic standpoint that are capable to describe the response of nonlinear viscoelastic fluids. We test the efficacy of both models by comparing their predictions against torsion experiments conducted for asphalt, a material that is notoriously difficult to model. Both the models seem to describe the response adequately, though neither is really very accurate. This should not be surprising as asphalt is a heterogenous material comprising of many components which is being homogenized and modeled as a single constituent viscoelastic fluid.