Research team
Expertise
Dr. Ren, a promising young researcher, recently earned his PhD in April 2024 at TU Delft and is currently a postdoc. His doctoral and postdoctoral research have equipped him with the knowledge and skills necessary for a permanent academic position and to become a renowned scholar in material science, chemical characterization, molecular simulation, and mechanical assessment. During his PhD, he focused on the rejuvenation evaluation of reclaimed asphalt binder using multiscale methods, including fatigue and aging aspects. Despite his early career stage, he has published 53 journal papers (25 papers as the first author) in high-impact journals (e.g., International Journal of Fatigue, Materials & Design) and 7 international conferences papers, with >1600 citations and h-index of 24. His expertise in mechanical characterization and molecular simulations of rejuvenated binders is highly relevant to this project. His professional experience and skills position him well to tackle the fatigue and durability problems at various scales. His skill set extends beyond research, encompassing leadership and supervision (supervised 2 PhD and 2 MSc thesis), project management (KPE Project), and time management skills. As a result of his research role in the scientific community, he has been invited to be as a reviewer of more than 100 articles in 18 journals and international proposals. He acts as a member in worldwide academic associations (e.g. ACS, ACSE, RILEM) and organized two special issues as a co-editor. He contributed to the organization of international conference (iFRAE2021) and multiple workshops (KPE-CEAB2022, RILEM Cluster F2024).
Multiscale Exploration on Cohesion/Adhesion Restoration Efficiency and Mechanism of Sustainable Bio-rejuvenated Bitumen (BORBs).
Abstract
In Europe, over 90% of European roads are surfaced with asphalt, and the sustainability goal serves as a central driver for reclaimed asphalt recycling. Rejuvenation technology has been developed for 100% recyclability of asphalt by adding rejuvenators and restoring chemo-rheological properties of aged bitumen. However, most rejuvenators are derived from non-renewable petroleum sources, and it is essential to develop renewable bio-based rejuvenators. The exploration of bio-rejuvenators is still in its early stages, with limited research focusing on the fundamentals behind the rejuvenation mechanism. As such, this project aims to develop a bottom-up multiscale evaluation framework for assessing the cohesion/adhesion performance of bio-rejuvenated bitumen (BORBs). Chemical techniques and nano-mechanics will first detect chemical and nanoscale cohesive/adhesive properties of BORBs, considering the role of bio-rejuveneator/aged bitumen types and conditioning factors. Subsequently, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations will be conducted to predict the molecular-scale debonding behaviors of BORBs. Lastly, MD simulation outputs will be connected with macroscale mechanical results, serving as input parameters for micromechanical modelling. Overall, this work will propose a trans-scale performance evaluation scheme for BORBs, facilitating the design of effective bio-rejuvenator formulations with high-quality rejuvenation efficiency in both cohesion and adhesion aspects.Researcher(s)
- Promoter: Van den bergh Wim
- Fellow: Ren Shisong
Research team(s)
Project type(s)
- Research Project