Mechanical Properties of the Interfacial Bond between Asphalt-Binder and Aggregates under Different Aging Conditions

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper " Mechanical Properties of the Interfacial Bond Between Asphalt-Binder and Aggregates Under Different Aging Conditions" effects of different aging conditions aging on binder samples modified with Al2O3/SiO2/CaO. Here are my comments and questions:

1-First of all, what’s novelty of this work. Several works published in this category.

2- In Molecular Dynamic modeling section, discussions of model and validation are very important. In my opinion, these two issues should be presented in a better way.

3- Figure 3 states that "tensile strength of asphalt-binder-aluminous rock (Al2O3) interface is significantly greater than that of the asphalt-binderbasalt (CaO)." what is the reason?

4- Figure 2, needs to scale bar and also needs to more explain.

5. In Figure 4, why the Compressibility of samples in different time of aging (0-20 h age) is same?

6- The conclusion section should be written a little more briefly.

7- style of the manuscript should be standard.

8- In section 1.1, two more topics can be included a) improvement resistance aging by nanoparticles in the binder samples and b) rheological improvement by addition of nanoparticles. Please refer below references and related works in the field.

- "Ultraviolet aging study on bitumen modified by a composite of clay and fumed silica nanoparticles." Scientific Reports 10, no. 1 (2020): 1-17.

- "Resistance to ultraviolet aging of nano-SiO2 and rubber powder compound modified asphalt." Materials 13, no. 22 (2020): 5067.

9-The authors should report the values of mean square error and margin of deviation for curves.

10- Technical terms are misused through the manuscript and the writing needs a minor revision.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Congratulations to authors. Very interesting paper about the evaluation of the mechanical properties of the interface between an aged 66⨯0.1 mm penetration grade bitumen and three different minerals from basalt, aluminous rock and limestone.

In general, the manuscript is well presented but some information shall be clarified or completed:

1. Some sentences have to be reorganized. For example, in the Abstract (lines 12 to 14) the word “and” appears four times in the same sentence;
2. Line 101: the expression “The results showed that the results …” has to be reformulated;
3. Lines 168/169: please verify this text;
4. Line 180: please define “70#”;
5. Line 192: please, explain Figure 1 (each image). What is A and B? Please change the B colour (yellow is not a good colour);
6. Line 273: did you follow any specific standard in Nano-Indentation Testing? If yes, please include this reference;
7. Again, line 273: can you identify the equipment used in this experiment?
8. Line 279: please, explain Figure 2 a), b) and c);
9. Figure 2 and others: please remove all the hidden data (that appears in the PDF file when we place the cursor over some images);
10. Line 302: this section title, “RESULTS, ANALYSES, and SYNTHESIS”, can be changed to ““RESULTS AND DISCUSSION”;
11. Lines 314/316: I don’t understand why you simulate “the asphalt-binder basalt” interface using a CaO mineral and the “asphalt-binder limestone” interface with SiO₂ .
12. Figures 3 to 7: in my opinion, if you have an axle title (“Age”) you don’t need to add the word “age” in each value;
13. Lines 350, 390 and 314: these lines are redundant (you already defined this acronym in line 321);
14. Line 455: please remove the hyperlink associated to the expression “intermolecular forces” (file:///D:/Program%20Files%20(x86/Youdao/ …);
15. Figure 8: the letter “(c)” appears over the “(b)” graphic;
16. Section 6. (Conclusion and recommendations): some conclusions can be better summarized;
17. It seems appropriate to include a list of acronyms (or “Abbreviations”) before “References”.

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Title: Mechanical Properties of the Interfacial Bond Between Asphalt-Binder and Aggregates Under Different Aging Conditions

In this revised manuscript, the Authors have made corrections according to referee comments. In my opinion, the manuscript in current form could be considered for acceptance.