The performance characteristics of a lead acid battery are investigated with the content of Sodium Perborate Tetrahydrate (SPT, NaBO3·4H2O) in a positive plate active material. SPT, which reacts with water to form hydrogen peroxide, is applied as an additive in the positive plate active material to increase adhesion between the substrate (positive plate) and the active material; this phenomenon is caused by a chemical reaction on the surface of substrate. A positive plate with the increasing content of SPT is prepared to compare its properties. It is confirmed that the oxide layer increases at the interface between the substrate and the active material with increasing content of SPT; this is proven to be an oxide layer through EDS analysis. Battery performance is confirmed: when SPT content is 2.0 wt%, the charging acceptance and high rate discharge properties are improved. In addition, the lifetime performance according to the Standard of Battery Association of Japan (SBA) S0101 test is improved with increasing content of SPT.

PURPOSES : It is well known that low temperature cracking is one of the most serious distresses on asphalt pavement, especially for northern U.S. (including Alaska), Canada and the northern part of south Korea. The risk of thermal cracking can be numerically measured by estimating thermal stress of a given asphalt mixture. This thermal stress can be computed by low temperature creep testing. Currently, in-direct tensile (IDT) mixture creep test mentioned in AASHTO specification is used for measuring low temperature creep properties of a given asphalt mixture. However, IDT requires the use of expensive testing equipment for performing the sophisticated analysis process, however, very few laboratories utilize this equipment. In this paper, a new and simple performance test (SPT) method: bending beam rheometer (BBR) mixture creep testing equipment is introduced, and the estimated experimental results were compared with those of conventional IDT tests. METHODS: Three different asphalt mixtures containing reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and roofing shingles were prepared in the Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC) research laboratory. Using the BBR and IDT, the low temperature creep stiffness data were measured and subsequently computed. Using a simple power-law function, the creep stiffness data were converted into relaxation modulus, and subsequently compared. Finally, thermal stress results were computed from relaxation modulus master curve using Gaussian quadrature approach with condierations of 24 Gauss number. RESULTS: In the case of the conventional asphalt mixture, similar trends were observed when the relaxation modulus and thermal stress results were compared. In the case of RAP and Shingle added mixtures, relatively different computation results were obtained. It can be estimated that different experimental surroundings and specimen sizes affected the results. CONCLUSIONS: It can be said that the BBR mixture creep test can be a more viable approach for measuring low temperature properties of asphalt mixture compared to expensive and complex IDT testing methods. However, more extensive research and analysis are required to further verify the feasibility of the BBR mixture creep test.