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From Pre-Swelling to Performance Enhancement: Mechanisms and Effects of an Instant Ultra High-Performance Bituminous Material Modifier.

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Title: From Pre-Swelling to Performance Enhancement: Mechanisms and Effects of an Instant Ultra High-Performance Bituminous Material Modifier.
Authors: Li, Yuanyuan1 (AUTHOR), Ji, Haowen1,2 (AUTHOR), Wang, Chonghui2,3 (AUTHOR) c.wang21@aston.ac.uk, Zhang, Derun3,4 (AUTHOR), Wang, Fu1 (AUTHOR), Jiang, Gangping2,4 (AUTHOR), Deng, Jiahui1,3 (AUTHOR), Ke, Junjie1,4 (AUTHOR)
Source: Materials (1996-1944). Feb2026, Vol. 19 Issue 3, p633. 29p.
Subjects: Asphalt modifiers, Bituminous materials, Bitumen analysis, Viscoelasticity
Abstract: Highlights: What are the main findings? Pre-swelling via 120 min shearing with 3 h maturation forms a distinct bitumen-polymer spherical structure. SHVE-MB preparation is highly efficient, requiring only 10 min shearing without extra swelling or maturation. The bituminous material prepared by SHVE-M exhibits performance equivalent to that of wet-process. What are the implications of the main findings? The proposed method significantly simplifies the production process of high-performance modified bitumen. It effectively bridges the performance gap between instant and traditional wet-process modified bitumen. The findings provide a more time-efficient and robust solution for road engineering materials. To elucidate the modification and pre-swelling mechanisms of instant bituminous modifiers and their contribution to bituminous materials' performance, this study investigates an instant ultra-high-performance bitumen modifier (SHVE-M). Fluorescence microscopy (FM), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), physical property tests, viscoelastic properties tests, dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), and mixture pavement performance tests were employed to systematically characterise the instant modified bitumen (SHVE-MB) and its mixture (SHVE-MBM). The results indicate that SHVE-M forms a stable "bitumen phase–polymer spherical phase" structure. ImageJ-win64 analysis revealed that SHVE-M exhibits a modifier area fraction of 46.68% and an average area fraction of 0.22‰, while SHVE-MB achieves a modifier area fraction of 17.54% and an average area fraction of 0.18‰. This morphology is supported by a large molecular size (LMS) content of 43% in SHVE-M. In terms of physical properties, the SHVE-MB (prepared via 10 min shearing) exhibited a penetration of 46.2 dmm, a softening point of 91.7 °C, and a ductility of 34.3 cm. These values are highly comparable to the conventional wet-process HVE-MB (prepared via 4 h maturation), with negligible differences of 0.5 dmm, 1.7 °C, and 1.4 cm, respectively. Quantitatively for viscoelasticity, SHVE-MB achieved a dynamic viscosity of 425,283.4 Pa·s at 60 °C and an elastic recovery rate of 92.1%, paralleling the 414,623.7 Pa·s and 93.6% of HVE-MB. Regarding mixture performance, the high-temperature dynamic stability (DS) of SHVE-MBM reached 7974 times/mm, approaching the 8256 times/mm of HVE-MBM. The water stability was excellent with a splitting tensile strength ratio (TSR) of 97.4% (vs. 98.0% for HVE-MBM). Furthermore, the low-temperature fracture toughness (KIC) reached 39.8 N/mm1.5, significantly outperforming SBS-MBM (27.9 N/mm1.5) and remaining close to HVE-MBM (43.9 N/mm1.5). These findings indicate that SHVE-MB effectively bridges the performance gap between instant and traditional high-viscosity modified bitumen, and the pre-swelling mechanism of SHVE-M is well characterized in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Materials (1996-1944) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: From Pre-Swelling to Performance Enhancement: Mechanisms and Effects of an Instant Ultra High-Performance Bituminous Material Modifier.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Yuanyuan%22">Li, Yuanyuan</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ji%2C+Haowen%22">Ji, Haowen</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Chonghui%22">Wang, Chonghui</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> c.wang21@aston.ac.uk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhang%2C+Derun%22">Zhang, Derun</searchLink><relatesTo>3,4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Fu%22">Wang, Fu</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jiang%2C+Gangping%22">Jiang, Gangping</searchLink><relatesTo>2,4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Deng%2C+Jiahui%22">Deng, Jiahui</searchLink><relatesTo>1,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ke%2C+Junjie%22">Ke, Junjie</searchLink><relatesTo>1,4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Materials+%281996-1944%29%22">Materials (1996-1944)</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 19 Issue 3, p633. 29p.
– Name: Subject
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Asphalt+modifiers%22">Asphalt modifiers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bituminous+materials%22">Bituminous materials</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bitumen+analysis%22">Bitumen analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Viscoelasticity%22">Viscoelasticity</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Highlights: What are the main findings? Pre-swelling via 120 min shearing with 3 h maturation forms a distinct bitumen-polymer spherical structure. SHVE-MB preparation is highly efficient, requiring only 10 min shearing without extra swelling or maturation. The bituminous material prepared by SHVE-M exhibits performance equivalent to that of wet-process. What are the implications of the main findings? The proposed method significantly simplifies the production process of high-performance modified bitumen. It effectively bridges the performance gap between instant and traditional wet-process modified bitumen. The findings provide a more time-efficient and robust solution for road engineering materials. To elucidate the modification and pre-swelling mechanisms of instant bituminous modifiers and their contribution to bituminous materials' performance, this study investigates an instant ultra-high-performance bitumen modifier (SHVE-M). Fluorescence microscopy (FM), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), physical property tests, viscoelastic properties tests, dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), and mixture pavement performance tests were employed to systematically characterise the instant modified bitumen (SHVE-MB) and its mixture (SHVE-MBM). The results indicate that SHVE-M forms a stable "bitumen phase–polymer spherical phase" structure. ImageJ-win64 analysis revealed that SHVE-M exhibits a modifier area fraction of 46.68% and an average area fraction of 0.22‰, while SHVE-MB achieves a modifier area fraction of 17.54% and an average area fraction of 0.18‰. This morphology is supported by a large molecular size (LMS) content of 43% in SHVE-M. In terms of physical properties, the SHVE-MB (prepared via 10 min shearing) exhibited a penetration of 46.2 dmm, a softening point of 91.7 °C, and a ductility of 34.3 cm. These values are highly comparable to the conventional wet-process HVE-MB (prepared via 4 h maturation), with negligible differences of 0.5 dmm, 1.7 °C, and 1.4 cm, respectively. Quantitatively for viscoelasticity, SHVE-MB achieved a dynamic viscosity of 425,283.4 Pa·s at 60 °C and an elastic recovery rate of 92.1%, paralleling the 414,623.7 Pa·s and 93.6% of HVE-MB. Regarding mixture performance, the high-temperature dynamic stability (DS) of SHVE-MBM reached 7974 times/mm, approaching the 8256 times/mm of HVE-MBM. The water stability was excellent with a splitting tensile strength ratio (TSR) of 97.4% (vs. 98.0% for HVE-MBM). Furthermore, the low-temperature fracture toughness (KIC) reached 39.8 N/mm1.5, significantly outperforming SBS-MBM (27.9 N/mm1.5) and remaining close to HVE-MBM (43.9 N/mm1.5). These findings indicate that SHVE-MB effectively bridges the performance gap between instant and traditional high-viscosity modified bitumen, and the pre-swelling mechanism of SHVE-M is well characterized in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Materials (1996-1944) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.3390/ma19030633
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        Text: English
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        PageCount: 29
        StartPage: 633
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Asphalt modifiers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Bituminous materials
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      – SubjectFull: Bitumen analysis
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      – TitleFull: From Pre-Swelling to Performance Enhancement: Mechanisms and Effects of an Instant Ultra High-Performance Bituminous Material Modifier.
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              Text: Feb2026
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