Effect of moisture on the aging behavior of asphalt binder

The moisture aging effect and mechanism of asphalt binder during the in-service life of pavement were investigated by laboratory simulating tests. Pressure aging vessel (PAV) test simulating the long-term aging of binder during the in-service life of pavement was modified to capture the long-term moisture aging effect of binder. Penetration grade tests including penetration test, soften point test, and ductility test as well as SuperpaveTM performance grade tests including viscosity test, dynamic shear rheometer test, and bending beam rheometer test were conducted to fully evaluate the moisture aging effect of binder. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy test and Gel-permeation chromatography test were applied to provide a fundamental understanding of the moisture aging mechanism of binder. The results indicate that moisture condition can accelerate the aging of asphalt binder and shorten the service life of asphalt binder. The modified PAV test with moisture condition can well characterize the moisture aging properties of asphalt binder.     

Region of Interest Imaging for a General Trajectory with the Rebinned BPF Algorithm

The back-projection-filtration(BPF) algorithm has been applied to image reconstruction for cone-beam configurations with general source trajectories.The BPF algorithm can reconstruct 3-D region-of-interest(ROI) images from data containing truncations.However,like many other existing algorithms for cone-beam configurations,the BPF algorithm involves a back-projection with a spatially varying weighting factor,which can result in the non-uniform noise levels in reconstructed images and increased computation ti...     

Consistency Conditions for Cone-Beam CT Data Acquired with a Straight-Line Source Trajectory

A consistency condition is developed for computed tomography(CT) projection data acquired from a straight-line X-ray source trajectory.The condition states that integrals of normalized projection data along detector lines parallel to the X-ray path must be equal.The projection data is required to be untruncated only along the detector lines parallel to the X-ray path,a less restrictive requirement compared to Fourier conditions that necessitate completely untruncated data.The condition is implemented numeri...     

Dual-Energy Technique at Low Tube Voltages for Small Animal Imaging

We investigate the feasibility of dual-energy method for image contrast enhancement in small animal studies using a low kV X-ray radiographic system.A robust method for X-ray spectrum estimation from transmission measurements,based on expectation-maximization(EM) method,is applied to an X-ray specimen radiographic system for dual energy imaging of a mouse.From transmission measurements of two known attenuators at two different X-ray tube voltages,the X-ray energy spectra are reconstructed using the EM-based...