Sharif Digital Repository

Modified bitumen enhances the performance properties of asphalt mixtures. A number of studies in the last decade have evaluated the performance properties of modified binders at different service temperatures. It is however possible to evaluate some modified binder time-temperature characteristics and performance properties through their rheological master curves. In this research, styrene butadiene styrene, ethylene vinyl acetate, polyphosphoric acid and crumb rubber were used to modify a PG58-22 base binder. Rheological master curves for |G∗| and phase angles of these binders were generated using data from the dynamic shear rheometer and bending beam rheometer at temperatures ranging from... 

Master curves of asphalt binders and mixtures have been traditionally used to evaluate their rheological behavior in the linear viscoelastic range. Different analytical models are available to describe the master curves of bituminous binders and mixtures. No models are currently considered universal for all modeling purposes. In this research, the general structure and capabilities of some of the most commonly used analytical models were investigated. Then, based on the patterns of phase angle master curves of ten neat and modified asphalt binders, four groups of master curve shapes were defined. The goodness of fit of the models for the different groups of master curves was used to develop... 

Aged asphalt binder in reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) or recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) blends only partially with the virgin binder. To better understand this state of blending, the asphalt mixtures in this study were designed, mixed, and compacted using different RAP and RAS contents. The asphalt binders were extracted and recovered from RAP and RAS and then blended with different proportions of a virgin binder. The master curves for the asphalt mixtures and asphalt binder blends were then constructed from the measured data. A locally calibrated Hirsch model was developed to estimate master curves for the asphalt mixtures from the corresponding binder-blend data. Pairwise comparison of... 

Modeling the mechanical behavior of asphalt binders and mixtures has been the subject of intensified research in recent decades. Master curves of the norm of the complex modulus |G*| in the linear viscoelastic domain are frequently used for modeling, while phase angle master curves are less frequently considered for this purpose. Therefore in this research, an empirical model is introduced for phase angle master curves of modified and neat bituminous binders. The model is based on a general form of a double-logistic (DL) mathematical function. The |GG*| master curve was then modeled using a mutual relationship between the phase angle and |GG*|. Master curves of three neat and seven modified... 

Reservoir characterization, especially during early stages of reservoir life, is very uncertain, due to the scarcity of data. Reservoir connectivity and permeability evaluation is of great importance in reservoir characterization. The conventional approach to addressing this is computationally very expensive and time consuming. Therefore, there is a great incentive to produce much simpler alternative methods. In this paper, we use a statistical approach called the percolation theory, which considers a hypothesis wherein the reservoir can be split into either permeable (i.e. sand/fracture) or impermeable flow units (i.e. shale/matrix), and assumes that the connectivity of permeability... 

Reservoir characterization, especially during early stages of reservoir life, is very uncertain, due to the scarcity of data. Reservoir connectivity and permeability evaluation is of great importance in reservoir characterization. The conventional approach to addressing this is computationally very expensive and time consuming. Therefore, there is a great incentive to produce much simpler alternative methods. In this paper, we use a statistical approach called the percolation theory, which considers a hypothesis wherein the reservoir can be split into either permeable (i.e. sand/fracture) or impermeable flow units (i.e. shale/matrix), and assumes that the connectivity of permeability... 

The sintering behavior of commercially available granulated ZrO2-3 mol% Y2O3 (3Y-TZP) powder compacts with an aggregate size of 75 nm was studied. The shrinkage response of the powder compacts during non-isothermal sintering was measured in a sensitive dilatometer at different heating rates. Densification and grain growth were also studied after isothermal firing in air according to different sintering cycles. The sintering and grain growth activation energy was estimated to be QS = 485 ± 12 kJ mol-1 and QG = 546 ± 23 kJ mol-1, respectively. Using the estimated Q-values, the master curves for sintering and grain growth were established and used for prediction of the densification and...