Hello there,

I'm Gaspare Giancontieri Marie Sklodowska-Curie research fellow at the University of Palermo. Before to explain more about my research I am going to introduce myself, just a bit.

I have a mechanical engineering background, however in the last years I developed a deep interest in computational fluid dynamic modelling and rheology, that is a branch of physics that deals with the deformation and flow of matter, especially the non-Newtonian flow of liquids and the plastic flow of solids.  

I started my journey around the Europe years ago at the University of Nottingham, where I carried out my MSc dissertation.

During that experience I was able to optimise the laboratory equipment to make more realistic viscosity measurements of modified bitumen through experimental and numerical techniques. Then, thanks different research projects and a working environment full of international experts I had the luck to kept working on this field that I really enjoy. 

Bearing in mind that, applying for SMARTI was an obvious choice for me. Indeed, the ETN project will give me the chance to keep working on a topic that I really enjoy but also thanks to the SMARTI network an amazing opportunity for professional and personal growth

Although work is important, life is made also of other things, not less important!

During my spare time I always loved travelling to discover new places, cultures and people.I genuinely think that all the people that have the opportunity to travel should take the chance to do it because travelling will open your mind to scenarios that you would never imagine.

I also enjoy playing football and get in shape by going to the gym. Finally but not least I love  spend time with my family and friends.  


The Project

The aim of the project is to design and characterise rheologically complex materials by using innovative techniques. 

A complex material is a mixtures in which two phases coexist together, exhibiting a diverse and often significant deviation from simple Newtonian behaviour. Therefore, these systems are characterised by an unusual mechanical response to applied stress or strain.  However, characterise and design such materials is often difficult if not impossible in some scenario due to the due to the variety of these structures.

One of the first issues dealing with this materials starts in the laboratory, indeed Carrying out rheological measurements on such materials using standard equipment is often a challenge if not impossible. In fact, a number of changes, such as phase separation, sedimentation, agglomeration, viscoelastic effects etc. may occur in the measuring chamber (figures), making the results not reproducible and representative of the original sample. That is the case for example of modified bitumen.

In order to overcome the above mentioned issues an novel impeller able to guarantee the sample stability was already designed, manufactured, calibrated and validated. 

Modified Bitumen - Asphalt rubber

In the production of modified bitumen crumb tyre rubber particles are added to the base material to enhance the asphalt performance and reduce the environmental impact. Due to the complexity structure of these materials characterise the rheologically property is challenging. Indeed, either due to the different density between the rubber and bitumen leading to phase separation, agglomeration or sedimentation either due to the swelling of the rubber absorbing the oily part of the bitumen leading to a dramatic increasing of viscosity, carrying out reliable viscosity measurements is not an easy task.

Using the novel impeller, able to reduce the level of heterogeneity of the system, a wide experimental investigation was  performed. Below the figure briefly summarise the materials and methodology adopted in the study is shown.

During the whole testing time the rotational viscosity of the binder  was constantly monitored, with accurate control of the temperature. Furthermore, it was possible to study the change in rheology of the modified bitumen with different rubber content, size and gradation by drastically reducing the material and time consumption. The whole experimental campaign was carried out using both the standard and the novel impeller. Results showed that the new device provided a more accurate trend of viscosity readings. 

That's it for now, my journey is just started...

Ciao!