Wheel tracking methods to evaluate moisture sensitivity of hot-mix asphalt mixtures

Existing test methods to determine moisture sensitivity in hot-mix asphalt （HMA） mixtures are time consuming and inconsistent. This research focused on wheel tracking devices to evaluate moisture sensitivity. The Asphalt Pavement Analyzer （APA） and the Hamburg Wheel Tracking Device （HWTD） were used for this research. Compacted cylindrical samples were fabricated using a Superpave Gyratory compactor. This study selected two most commonly used mixtures, SM-12.5A with PG 64-22 binder in overlay projects and SM-19A mixtures with PG 64-22 binder for major modification projects at Kansas Department of Transportation. Test results show that APA tests could induce stripping in most samples without any anti-stripping agent, which could be identified visually. However, APA results did not indicate any stripping inflection point while the HWTD results showed stripping inflection points, which are important to identify stripping potential of mixtures. The APA results show that wet tests are severe at lower temperatures. The HWTD results show improvement in the performance using anti-stripping agents at later stage. The HWTD test is more effective as a rapid test method in case of determining moisture sensitivity. Laboratory results from this study should be verified and correlated with field performance.

Surface Photovoltage Studies of Moisture Sensitive Characteristic of Copper Tetrasulfonato-Phthalocyanine

The surface photovoltaic characteristic of copper tetrasulfonato- phthalocyanine (CuTsPc) in water vapor was studied by surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS). It was found that the adsorption of water vapor caused some marvelous changes of the photovoltaic response, that is, the SPS signal diminished rapidly and even reversed; the bands were widened and displayed a bathochromic shift. The dependence of surface photovoltage on the vapor pressure indicates that the reversed signal reaches to a maximum when the vapor pressure is 4.7×102 Pa. The time response velocity, reversibility, selectivity and reproducibili-ty were examined as well. All results obtained show that CuTsPc is of great significance in the manufacture of moisture sensitive devices. In addition, the mechanism of moisture sensitivity is discussed.

Chemical Reaction Between Polyvinyl Alcohol and Titanate Coupling Agent with X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

The chemical reaction between polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and tri(dioctylpyrophosphoryloxy) isopropyl titanate (NDZ-201) was studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).The results show that some C-OH functional groups of PVA react with the titanate coupling agent to form C PVA-O-Ti-O-C PVA bond.The cross-linking of the PVA chains occurs through the formation of C PVA-O-Ti-O-C PVA bonds and produces a three dimensional hydrophobic polymer network.Accordingly,the mechanism is proposed that the titanate coupling agent improves the moisture sensitivity of high alumina cement/polyvinyl alcohol (HAC/PVA) based macro defect free (MDF) composite material.

Dependence of Soil Respiration on Soil Temperature and Soil Moisture in Successional Forests in Southern China

The spatial and temporal variations in soil respiration and its relationship with biophysical factors In forests near the Tropic of Cancer remain highly uncertain. To contribute towards an Improvement of actual estimates, soil respiration rates, soil temperature, and soil moisture were measured In three successional subtropical forests at the Dlnghuahan Nature Reserve （DNR） In southern China from March 2003 to February 2005. The overall objective of the present study was to analyze the temporal variations of soil respiration and Its biophysical dependence in these forests. The relationships between biophysical factors and soil respiration rates were compared In successional forests to test the hypothesis that these forests responded similarly to biophysical factors. The seasonality of soil respiration coincided with the seasonal climate pattern, with high respiration rates in the hot humid season （April-September） and with low rates In the cool dry season （October-March）. Soil respiration measured at these forests showed a clear Increasing trend with the progressive succession. Annual mean （± SD） soil respiration rate In the DNR forests was （9.0 ± 4.6） Mg CO2-C/hm^2 per year, ranging from （6.1 ± 3.2） Mg CO2-C/hm^2 per year in early successional forests to （10.7 ± 4.9） Mg CO2-C/hm^2 per year in advanced successional forests. Soil respiration was correlated with both soil temperature and moisture. The T/M model, where the two biophysical variables are driving factors, accounted for 74%-82% of soil respiration variation In DNR forests. Temperature sensitivity decreased along progressive succession stages, suggesting that advanced-successional forests have a good ability to adjust to temperature. In contrast, moisture Increased with progressive succession processes. This increase is caused, in part, by abundant respirators In advanced-successional forest, where more soil moisture is needed to maintain their activities.

Soil temperature and moisture sensitivities of soil CO_2 efflux before and after tillage in a wheat field of Loess Plateau,China

As a conventional farming practice, tillage has lasted for thousands of years in Loess Plateau, China. Although recent studies show that tillage is a prominent culprit to soil carbon loss in croplands, few studies have investigated the influences of tillage on the responses of soil CO2 efflux （SCE） to soil temperature and moisture. Using a multi-channel automated CO2 efflux chamber system, we measured SCE in situ continuously before and after the conventional tillage in a rain fed wheat field of Loess Plateau, China. The changes in soil temperature and moisture sensitivities of SCE, denoted by the Q10 value and linear regression slope respectively, were compared in the same range of soil temperature and moisture before and after the tillage. The results showed that, after the tillage, SCE increased by 1.2-2.2 times; the soil temperature sensitivity increased by 36.1%-37.5%; and the soil moisture sensitivity increased by 140%-166%. Thus, the tillage-induced increase in SCE might partially be attributed to the increases in temperature and moisture sensitivity of SCE.

Polyimide-Coated Fiber Bragg Grating for Relative Humidity Sensing

A fiber-optic humidity sensor has been fabricated by coating a moisture sensitive polymer film to the fiber Bragg grating （FBG）. The Bragg wavelength of the polyimide-coated FBG changes while it is exposed to different humidity conditions due to the volume expansion of the polyimide coating. The characteristics of sensors, including sensitivity, temporal response, and hysteresis, were improved by controlling the coating thickness and the degree of imidization during the thermal curing process of the polyimide. In the relative humidity （RH） condition ranging from 11.3%RH to 97.3%RH, the sensitivity of the sensor was about 13.5pm/%RH with measurement uncertainty of ±1.5%RH.

Spider Silk Supercontraction‑Inspired Cotton‑Hydrogel Self‑Adapting Textiles

Smart textiles are able to self-adapt to an irregular surface.So,they found new applications in intelligent clothes and equipments,where the properties and functionality of traditional polymeric fibers are insufficient,and hard to be realized.Inspired by the supercontraction behavior of the spider silk,we prepared a spinnable hydrogel to form a sheath-core-like composite yarn,after being coated on cotton yarn.The strong hydrogen bonding between the cotton yarn and the polar groups of the hydrogel provides an outstanding mechanical stability,and the twists insertion forms a spiral-like architecture,which exhibited moisture-responsive super contraction behavior.By structural tailoring the chirality of the fiber twists and coiling extends into homo-chiral and heterochiral architectures,as displays contraction and expansion when is exposed to the moisture.Once the relative humidity is increased from 60 to 90%,a homochiral yarn exhibits 90%contraction,while a heterochiral yarn shows 450% expansion,and the maximum work capacity reached up to 6.1 J/Kg.The super contracted yarn can be re-stretched to its original length manifesting cyclability,which can be exploited to build a smart textile,selfadaptive to irregular surfaces.Such a strategy may be further extended to a wide variety of materials to achieve intelligent textiles from common fiber or yarns.