SusChEM/Collaborative Research: Fundamental Understanding of Foaming Process towards a New Warm Mix Asphalt Technology

该奖项的目的是了解使用几种发泡剂的发泡过程，以指导我们设计一种新的温拌沥青(WMA)技术。在拟议的项目中，来自哥伦比亚大学和密歇根理工大学的研究人员将调查三种潜在的发泡剂，包括作为化学发泡剂的苏打、作为物理发泡剂的二氧化碳/氮气和乙醇。将进行多相表征和粘弹性模型研究，以研究沥青材料的微观结构如何随时间、温度和材料成分比例的变化而变化，并在此过程中研究化学发泡剂与物理发泡剂的任何差异和相对优势。将确定发泡剂的单一或组合，以获得最佳的最终结果。基于发泡工艺的WMA的疲劳强度、长期性能和寿命周期成本将通过加速试验方法进行表征。该项目集成了最先进的流变学和加速老化试验、热力学、孔洞力学、化学变化和多尺度建模，以确定泡沫沥青材料的物理和力学性能。这些研究将促进人们对发泡过程的理解，并为材料设计建立预测材料行为的理论框架，这将导致在能源和环境方面可持续工程材料的新理论和新模型。该项目为开展可持续工程的跨学科研究提供了独特的机会，以减少能源消耗、温室气体排放、促进沥青材料的回收利用，并提高生命周期性能。该计划开发的技术将迅速转化为工业。

The objective of this award is to understand the foaming process using several foaming agents to guide us in the design of a new warm mix asphalt (WMA) technology. In the proposed project, researchers from Columbia University and Michigan Technological University will investigate three foaming agents as potential candidates, including soda as a chemical foaming agent, CO2/N2 gas and ethanol as physical blowing agents. Multiphase characterization and viscoelastic modeling studies will be conducted to investigate how the microstructure of asphalt materials evolves with time, temperatures, and proportion of material constituents, and in doing so study any differences and relative benefits from chemical vs. physical blowing agents. A single or the combination of foaming agents will be determined for optimal end-results. The fatigue strength, the long-term performance and life cycle cost of the WMA based on the foaming process will be characterized with accelerated test methods. This project integrates state-of-the-art rheological and accelerated aging tests, thermodynamics, poromechanics, chemical changes and multi-scale modeling to identify the physical and mechanical properties of foamed asphalt materials. The proposed studies will advance the understanding of the foaming process and establish a theoretical framework to predict the material behavior for material design, which will lead to new theories and models of sustainable engineering materials in energy and environmental aspects. This project provides a unique opportunity for conducting interdisciplinary research in sustainable engineering to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gas emission, to facilitate recycling of asphalt materials, and improve life-cycle performance. The technologies developed in this program will be rapidly transferred to industry.