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Gao, Y. (author), Liu, X. (author), Ren, S. (author), Assaf Martinez-Streignard, E.I. (author), Liu, Pengfei (author), Zhang, Yuqing (author)Bitumen fatigue resistance is critical to determine the overall fatigue performance and service life of asphalt pavements. However, the mechanisms responsible for fatigue damage of bitumen have previously not been well understood. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation has recently emerged as a powerful computer-aided numerical technique to model...journal article 2024
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Assaf Martinez-Streignard, E.I. (author), Liu, X. (author), Lin, P. (author), Erkens, S. (author)This paper presents a United Atom (UA) force field for simulating hydrocarbon molecules in bituminous materials, integrating explicit hydrogens into beads with their parent atom. This method simplifies all-atom molecular models, significantly accelerating Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations of bitumen by 10 to 100 times. Key advantages...journal article 2024
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Assaf Martinez-Streignard, E.I. (author), Liu, X. (author), Lin, P. (author), Erkens, S. (author), Nahar, Sayeda (author), Mensink, Liz I.S. (author)Conventional Molecular Dynamics (MD) models of bitumen are built by homogeneously mixing molecules in a volume without considering that the molecules in bitumen are known to exhibit phase behavior and form distinctive molecular arrangements. These are known to have a significant impact in the behavior of bitumen, and considering their...journal article 2023
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Tabakovic, A. (author), Lemmens, Jeremy (author), Tamis, J. (author), van Vliet, Dave (author), Nahar, Sayeda (author), Suitela, Willem (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Leegwater, G.A. (author)Bitumen is a key constitutive material in asphalt pavements. It binds together the rock scaffolding of a pavement. Bitumen provides asphalt pavement with flexibility and enables it to respond to traffic loading and return to its original condition after the loading, i.e. bitumen restores/repairs the damage. In Porous Asphalt (PA) or...journal article 2023
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Ma, L. (author), Seyed Salehi, H. (author), Jing, R. (author), Erkens, S. (author), Vlugt, T.J.H. (author), Moultos, O. (author), Greenfield, M.L. (author), Varveri, Aikaterini (author)Water transport is one of the major factors responsible for moisture damage in asphalt pavements. To study the thermodynamics and kinetics of water transport in bitumen and to uncover microscale mechanisms of moisture-induced damage, molecular dynamics simulations were performed for up to 600 ns for water–bitumen systems with realistic water...journal article 2023
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Ma, L. (author), Varveri, Aikaterini (author), Jing, R. (author), Erkens, S. (author)The chemical characterization of bitumen type and ageing state are fundamental in determining structural and mechanical properties of bitumen. This work aims to classify various bitumen types at different ageing states and to identify the primary chemical differences relevant to the classification. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectral...journal article 2023
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Ren, S. (author), Liu, X. (author), Lin, P. (author), Gao, Y. (author), Erkens, S. (author)Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation plays an effective role in predicting the critical properties and explaining the macroscale phenomenon at the nanoscale. This review summarized the application cases of MD simulations in various bitumen systems, considering aging, modification, and rejuvenation factors. Meanwhile, the potential relationships...review 2022
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Gao, Y. (author), Zhang, Yuqing (author), Zhang, Chao (author), Liu, X. (author), Jing, R. (author)Bitumen in asphalt pavements reacts slowly with atmospheric oxygen, resulting in oxidative ageing. This oxidative reaction is strongly dependent on the physical diffusion of the oxygen into the bitumen. This study aims to use molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to investigate the oxygen diffusion into the bitumen film and analyse the effects...journal article 2022
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Tabakovic, A. (author)The global road network spans 64.3million km and is of huge significance for the social and economic development. The level of investment in road construction and maintenance is high, e.g. EU €44billion/year (2019), China €614.7billion/year (2019) and US €94billion/year (2019). Despite the level of investment, there has been minimal...journal article 2022
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Wang, Fu (author), Zhu, Hongbin (author), Li, Yuanyuan (author), Gu, Dengjun (author), Gao, Y. (author), Feng, Jianlin (author), Shu, Benan (author), Li, Chao (author), Wu, Shaopeng (author)Conventional asphalt mixture has poor microwave absorbing performance and microwave heating efficiency. Based on the characteristics of dielectric loss of scrap tire pyrolysis carbon black (PCB), it is proposed to improve the microwave absorbing performance and self-healing rate of bitumen. The phase composition and electromagnetic parameters...journal article 2022
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Ma, L. (author), Varveri, Aikaterini (author), Jing, R. (author), Kasbergen, C. (author), Erkens, S. (author)Moisture in bitumen and at the bitumen-aggregate interface affects the cohesive and adhesive properties of asphalt mixtures, which are critical for the service performance and durability of pavements. This paper aims to investigate the kinetics and thermodynamics of moisture transport in bitumen at various temperatures and relative humidity...journal article 2022
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Pipintakos, Georgios (author), Lommaert, Caitlin (author), Varveri, Aikaterini (author), Van den bergh, Wim (author)The ageing of bitumen has received great attention both from a chemical and rheological perspective due to its direct impact on asphalt performance. However, open questions with respect to the convergence of the synchronous ageing changes in rheology and chemistry of bitumen still exist. This paper addresses these alterations of chemistry and...journal article 2022
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Porot, Laurent (author), Mouillet, Virginie (author), Margaritis, Alexandros (author), Haghshena, Hamzeh (author), Elwardany, Michael (author), Apostolidis, P. (author)InfraRed spectrometry is a powerful technique to characterise bituminous binders. The methodology is not fully harmonised and may lead to vari-ability. The RILEM-272-PIM-TG1, evaluated seven complex bituminous, for which eleven laboratories performed FTIR. While, the spectra showed sim-ilar trends, further analysis was needed to improve...journal article 2022
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Jing, R. (author), Apostolidis, P. (author), Liu, X. (author), Naus, Robbert (author), Erkens, S. (author), Scarpas, Athanasios (author)The rejuvenation of epoxy modified bituminous binders is a topic of much debate because such binders may not be able to melt at high temperatures and restore their properties using recycling agents. This paper presents the results of an experimental program developed to evaluate the re-usability of an epoxy modified bitumen, or epoxy bitumen, by...journal article 2021
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Wang, H. (author), Liu, X. (author), Apostolidis, P. (author), Wang, Di (author), Leng, Zhen (author), Lu, Guoyang (author), Erkens, S. (author), Scarpas, Athanasios (author)Rubberized asphaltic materials have been frequently combined with warm-mix asphalt technologies to tackle the issues of high energy consumptions and emissions during construction. Effective and accurate characterization of binder properties is conducive to the improvement of long-term pavement performance. The current study aims to quantify...journal article 2021
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Porot, Laurent (author), Chailleux, Emmanuel (author), Apostolidis, P. (author), Zhu, Jiqing (author), Margaritis, Alexandros (author), Tsantilis, Lucia (author)The asphalt industry is constantly working to enhance the performances of asphalt materials, introducing innovative and more sustainable solutions. In this context, the incorporation of materials, such as additives, polymers, is more and more used to improve the properties of neat bitumen. This leads to even more complex bituminous binders,...conference paper 2021
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Apostolidis, P. (author), Elwardany, Michael (author), Porot, Laurent (author), Vansteenkiste, Stefan (author), Chailleux, Emmanuel (author)The RILEM TC 272 PIM (Phase and Interphase behavior of innovative bituminous Materials)—TG1 Binder has initiated an inter-laboratory program investigating the phase and interphase behaviour of bituminous binders. Within the scope, four laboratories evaluated the low temperature properties of seven binders with differential scanning calorimetry ...journal article 2021
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Gao, Y. (author), Zhang, Yuqing (author), Omairey, Eman L. (author), Al-Malaika, Sahar (author), Sheena, Husam (author)The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different anti-ageing compounds (AACs) on the oxidative stability, rheological and mechanical properties of bitumen. Modified bitumen samples containing six different AAC combinations, with five samples containing Irganox acid (3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydoxyphenylpropionic acid), a hindered...journal article 2021
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Ma, L. (author), Varveri, Aikaterini (author), Jing, R. (author), Erkens, S. (author)Oxidative ageing and moisture damage are key factors in bitumen degradation and asphalt pavement deterioration. The effects of oxygen and moisture on bitumen are governed by their transport and reaction processes. This paper provides an overview of theories and concepts developed to describe the kinetics, thermodynamics and mechanisms of...journal article 2021
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Mastoras, Filippos (author), Varveri, Aikaterini (author), van Tooren, M.M. (author), Erkens, S. (author)Past research has shown that the ageing process of bitumen is not solely a function of the bitumen type itself, but rather, added effects have been identified attributed to the presence of fillers. Nevertheless, contradicting results exist between the various studies with respect to the implications of fillers on the ageing process of bitumen...journal article 2021