A novel laboratory methodology for analysing hot asphalt fumes from various paving materials is presented and evaluated. This method facilitates comparative assessments, aiming to enhance occupational safety for asphalt workers and ensure safe implementation of new paving materials. Comparative analyses of emissions to air were conducted on standard asphalt and rubber-modified asphalt at different temperatures. The temperature significantly influences PAH emissions. Rubber-modified asphalt demonstrated higher PAH emissions at equivalent temperatures compared to standard asphalt, predominantly naphthalene. Even heavier PAHs as benzo(a)pyrene were occasionally high. Notably, at recommended working temperatures the standard asphalt resulted in higher emissions, comprising heavier PAHs compared to rubber asphalt. © 2024 The Authors

Compared to other age groups, older adults are at more significant risk of hip fracture when they fall. In addition to the higher risk of falls for the elderly, fear of falls can reduce this population’s outdoor activity. Various preventive solutions have been proposed to reduce the risk of hip fractures ranging from wearable hip protectors to indoor flooring systems. A previously developed rubberized asphalt mixture demonstrated the potential to reduce the risk of head injury. In the current study, the capability of the rubberized asphalt sample was evaluated for the risk of hip fracture for an average elderly male and an average elderly female. A previously developed human body model was positioned in a fall configuration that would give the highest impact forces toward regular asphalt. Three different rubber contents with 14, 28, 33 weight percent (% wt.) were implemented as the ground alongside one regular non-rubberized (0%) asphalt mixture, one baseline, and one extra-compliant playground rubber-composite material. The whole-body model was simulated to fall on the rubberized asphalt mixtures with an initial vertical velocity of 3 m/s with a 10° trunk angle and +10° anterior pelvis rotation. The impact forces were measured on the femoral head, and a previously developed hip fracture risk function was used to compare the rubberized asphalt mixtures. It was found that the rubberized asphalt mixture with 33% wt. rubber can reduce the impact forces up to 10% for the elderly male and female model compared to regular asphalt. The impact forces were most reduced for the extra-compliant playground material, with a 23% reduction for the female model. The risk of injury for the asphalt mixture with 33% wt. rubber was reduced up to 18% for elderly females and 20 for elderly males, compared to regular asphalt. The extra-compliant playground material had the most reduction of hip fracture risk for both sexes, 39 and 43% for elderly females and males, respectively. 

Strongly attractive forces act between superhydrophobic surfaces across water due to the formation of a bridging gas capillary. Upon separation, the attraction can range up to tens of micrometers as the gas capillary grows, while gas molecules accumulate in the capillary. We argue that most of these molecules come from the pre-existing gaseous layer found at and within the superhydrophobic coating. In this study, we investigate how the capillary size and the resulting capillary forces are affected by the thickness of the gaseous layer. To this end, we prepared superhydrophobic coatings with different thicknesses by utilizing different numbers of coating cycles of a liquid flame spraying technique. Laser scanning confocal microscopy confirmed an increase in gas layer thickness with an increasing number of coating cycles. Force measurements between such coatings and a hydrophobic colloidal probe revealed attractive forces caused by bridging gas capillaries, and both the capillary size and the range of attraction increased with increasing thickness of the pre-existing gas layer. Hence, our data suggest that the amount of available gas at and in the superhydrophobic coating determines the force range and capillary growth. © 2024 The Authors.

A fundamental understanding of the interactions between mineral surfaces and amphiphilic surface modification agents is needed for better control over the production and uses of mineral fillers. Here, we controlled the carboxylic acid layer formation conditions on calcite surfaces with high precision via vapor deposition. The properties of the resulting carboxylic acid layers were analyzed using surface-sensitive techniques, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle measurements, angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and vibrational sum-frequency spectroscopy. A low wettability was achieved with long hydrocarbon chain carboxylic acids such as stearic acid. The stearic acid layer formed by vapor deposition is initially patchy, but with increasing vapor exposure time, the patches grow and condense into a homogeneous layer with a thickness close to that expected for a monolayer as evaluated by AFM and XPS. The build-up process of the layer occurs more rapidly at higher temperatures due to the higher vapor pressure. The stability of the deposited fatty acid layer in the presence of a water droplet increases with the chain length and packing density in the adsorbed layer. Vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy data demonstrate that the stearic acid monolayers on calcite have their alkyl chains in an all-trans conformation and are anisotropically distributed on the plane of the surface, forming epitaxial monolayers. Vibrational spectra also show that the stearic acid molecules interact with the calcite surface through the carboxylic acid headgroup in both its protonated and deprotonated forms. The results presented provide new molecular insights into the properties of adsorbed carboxylic acid layers on calcite.

The formation of a bridging gas capillary between superhydrophobic surfaces in water gives rise to strongly attractive interactions ranging up to several micrometers on separation. However, most liquids used in materials research are oil-based or contain surfactants. Superamphiphobic surfaces repel both water and low-surface-tension liquids. To control the interactions between a superamphiphobic surface and a particle, it needs to be resolved whether and how gas capillaries form in non-polar and low-surface-tension liquids. Such insight will aid advanced functional materials development. Here, we combine laser scanning confocal imaging and colloidal probe atomic force microscopy to elucidate the interaction between a superamphiphobic surface and a hydrophobic microparticle in three liquids with different surface tensions: water (73 mN m−1), ethylene glycol (48 mN m−1) and hexadecane (27 mN m−1). We show that bridging gas capillaries are formed in all three liquids. Force-distance curves between the superamphiphobic surface and the particle reveal strong attractive interactions, where the range and magnitude decrease with liquid surface tension. Comparison of free energy calculations based on the capillary menisci shapes and the force measurements suggest that under our dynamic measurements the gas pressure in the capillary is slightly below ambient. © 2023, The Author(s).

Impact-absorbing pavements (IAPs) may be used as novel sidewalks and bike lanes surface layers to decrease fall-related injuries among vulnerable road users (VRUs). Therefore, a cold-made, highly rubberised asphalt mixture (56% recycled rubber in the total volume of the mix) was developed in the laboratory, and the process was then upscaled, permitting its construction on a trial site. Both laboratory and on-site tests facilitated the evaluation of the material’s mechanical properties, impact-absorption capabilities, and frictional behaviour. The field trial enabled a comprehensive assessment of the material’s performance after six months of usage by pedestrians and cyclists on a hybrid segment. Additionally, evaluations were conducted after six, fifteen, and twenty months. The results confirmed the possibility to produce and lay a cold, highly rubberised paving material with valuable impact-attenuation performances. The mechanical analysis has shown the material’s elastic behaviour and its capability to carry uniaxial compression stress leading to a 5% strain of the total height without losing its properties. Furthermore, the critical fall height (CFH) values exhibited a sixfold increase compared to conventional asphalt, thereby reducing the severity of potential injuries. In terms of durability, the pavement’s overall effectiveness remained significant even after six, fifteen, and twenty months of use. The study demonstrated the capability to cover and fill holes and damaged portions using the same rubberised and cold mixture, a crucial aspect concerning the material’s future and maintenance considerations. 

Objective: Vulnerable Road Users (VRU), including pedestrians and cyclists, are generally the least protected road users and are frequently missed in the planning process of preventive measures. Rubberized asphalt mixtures were originally developed as a possible environmentally friendly solution to recycle the End-of-Life Tires while making the pavements more durable. The objective of the current study was to explore the effects of increasing the rubber content of the common rubberized asphalt mixtures in reducing the head injuries risk for VRUs. Method: To achieve this purpose, four different sample series with 0, 14, 28, and 33 weight percent rubber in each were tested. A compressive test without permanent deformation and one with failure were performed on each sample series. The mechanical behavior of each set was modeled using a MAT_SIMPLIFIED_RUBBER material model in LS-Dyna and validated against a standard Head Injury Criterion (HIC) drop test. Ultimately, previously low-speed accident reconstructed cases, a bicycle and a pedestrian one, were used to assess the effect of varying the rubber content on reducing the head injury risk. Results: In the bicycle accident case, the risk of skull fracture was reduced from 0.99 to 0.29 when comparing the non-rubberized asphalt mixture with the 33% rubber mixture. In the same accident case, the risk of concussion, evaluated using the logistic regression method, was reduced from 0.97 in the non-rubberized mixture to 0.81 in the 33% rubber mixture. The initial conditions, linear and rotational velocities, were lower for the pedestrian case compared to the bicycle case (the bicycle case was more severe compared to the pedestrian case), which led to lower strains in the pedestrian case. In the pedestrian accident case, the risk of skull fracture was reduced from 1.00 in the non-rubberized mixture to 0.63 in the 33% rubber mixture, while the risk of concussion was reduced from 0.64 to 0.07. Conclusion: The rubberized asphalt mixtures could reduce the head injury risk for the studied cases when the rubber content in the asphalt mixture increases. © 2022 The Author(s). 

Cyclists, pedestrians and elderly people’s specific needs in urban road infrastructures are often neglected. They rarely benefit from safety measures or innovations. Inspired by playgrounds and aiming to reduce vulnerable road users (VRUs) injuries, the development of the rubber-based Impact-Absorbing Pavements (IAP) offers a possibility to rethink the design of urban pavements and address safety on roads, which constitutes a major challenge in terms of attaining more sustain-able, resilient, and safe cities. Therefore, bituminous mixtures with four different crumb rubber con-tents, 0%, 14%, 28%, and 33% (in total weight), were produced by partial aggregates substitution using the dry process. After the assessment of the geometrical and volumetric properties, the mechanical performances were evaluated. Finally, the samples were tested to measure the abrasion and impact attenuation with the well-known Head Injury Criterion (HIC), at different temperatures from −10 to 40 °C, to obtain a wide range of values referring to possible weather conditions. A significant effect of the rubber percentage and layer thickness on impact attenuation was observed. All observations and results confirm the feasibility of the IAP concept and its positive effect on future injury-prevention applications. © 2021 by the authors.

Human tactile evaluations were combined with tactile friction measurements to quantify the perceptual experience of touching coated panels. Monosized beads of nine different polymer compositions were added to a soft-touch waterborne two-component PUR coating. Introducing beads of different composition affected tactile perception.

The substitution of mineral aggregates with crumb rubber (CR) from waste end‐of‐life tires (ELTs) in the asphalt concretes, has been considered a sustainable paving industry approach. The rubber has been used to construct pavements with proven enhanced resilience and improved durability. However, some issues related to the rubber’s surface adhesion or swelling may arise with these practices and generate complications (binder consumption, temperatures, mixing times). One possible solution to overcome the materials’ compatibility problems is to pre‐treat the CR’s surface before its incorporation into the asphalt mixes to allow a surface functionalization that can enhance coverage and cohesion inside the mixes. The physical treatments using radiations‐based beam are already exploited in the plastic recycling industries avoiding the use of chemicals in con-siderable amounts. Such treatments permit the recovering of large quantities of polymer‐based materials and the enhancement of interfacial properties. This article provides an overview of existing surface treatments of polymers and especially rubber, including gamma ray, UV‐ozone, micro-waves, and plasma. Several studies have shown an overall improvement of the rubber surface’s reactive properties due to contaminant removal or roughness enhancement attributed to cross‐link-ing or scission reactions occurring on the rubber’s surface layer. With those properties, the asphalt mixes’ phase stability properties are increased when the pre‐treated rubber is incorporated. The treatments would permit to increase the CR quantities, yet reduce the layer stiffness, and improve the durability and the sustainability of future advanced road pavements. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.