## 5 Results and Discussions
### Optimal Preparation Process  
The physical properties of THFS modified asphalt binder with different combinations (A\({}_{2}\)B\({}_{2}\)C\({}_{2}\)/A\({}_{1}\)B\({}_{2}\)C\({}_{2}\)) recommended using OATS and GCA analysis results were different and further compared. The test results are shown in Table 7.  
It could be reported that the physical properties of asphalt binder prepared according the GCA analysis result (A\({}_{1}\)B\({}_{2}\)C\({}_{2}\)) was better than that fabricated according the OATS analysis result (A\({}_{2}\)B\({}_{2}\)C\({}_{2}\)). The optimal combination for preparation process acquired in this study was a shearing temperature of 150 \({}^{\circ}\)C, shearing time of 45 min and shearing rate of 4000 rpm. Consequently, the following steps schematically summarized for THFS modified asphalt binder preparation procedure:  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline
**Combinations** & **25 \({}^{\circ}\)C Penetration** & **10 \({}^{\circ}\)C Ductility** & **Softening Point** & **135 \({}^{\circ}\)C RV** & **Correlation Degree** \\ \hline A\({}_{1}\)B\({}_{1}\)C\({}_{1}\) & 0.5954 & 0.7376 & 0.5650 & 0.5826 & 216.4496 \\ A\({}_{1}\)B\({}_{2}\)C\({}_{2}\) & 0.5933 & 0.7407 & 0.5747 & 0.6091 & 217.5866 \\ A\({}_{1}\)B\({}_{3}\)C\({}_{3}\) & 0.5214 & 0.9914 & 0.9013 & 1.0000 & 195.1453 \\ A\({}_{2}\)B\({}_{1}\)C\({}_{2}\) & 0.8856 & 0.8031 & 0.6705 & 0.6056 & 214.3054 \\ A\({}_{2}\)B\({}_{2}\)C\({}_{3}\) & 0.4562 & 1.0000 & 0.6607 & 0.4480 & 216.9869 \\ A\({}_{2}\)B\({}_{3}\)C\({}_{1}\) & 0.7361 & 0.7085 & 1.0000 & 0.9417 & 201.9705 \\ A\({}_{3}\)B\({}_{1}\)C\({}_{3}\) & 0.5765 & 0.8313 & 0.8609 & 0.7440 & 209.6878 \\ A\({}_{3}\)B\({}_{2}\)C\({}_{1}\) & 1.0000 & 0.9001 & 0.9443 & 0.5146 & 216.9994 \\ A\({}_{3}\)B\({}_{3}\)C\({}_{2}\) & 0.3535 & 0.4493 & 0.4501 & 0.4980 & 207.4202 \\ Correlation & 0.6353 & 0.7958 & 0.7364 & 0.6604 & - \\ Factor ratio/\% & 22.467 & 28.140 & 26.039 & 23.352 & - \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 6: GCA Analysis Results.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline
**Dominations** & **25 \({}^{\circ}\)C** & **10 \({}^{\circ}\)C** & **Softening** & **135 \({}^{\circ}\)C** \\
**Penetration/0.1 mm** & **Ductility/cm** & **Point/\({}^{\circ}\)C** & **RV/mPa-s** & **Methods** \\ \hline A\({}_{2}\)B\({}_{2}\)C\({}_{2}\) & 49.6 & 9.1 & 50.1 & 527.4 & OATS \\ A\({}_{1}\)B\({}_{2}\)C\({}_{2}\) & 51.8 & 9.7 & 52.1 & 531.6 & GCA \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 7: Physical properties of Asphalt Binders with Different Combinations.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline
**Items** & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**A: Shearing Temperature/\({}^{\circ}\)C**} & **B: Shearing Time/min** & **C: Shearing Rate/rpm** \\ \hline
25 \({}^{\circ}\)C Penetration & Range & 10.533 & 13.167 & 7.300 \\  & Optimal combination & & A\({}_{2}\)B\({}_{2}\)C\({}_{3}\) & \\ \hline
10 \({}^{\circ}\)C Ductility & Range & 2.100 & 4.100 & 1.533 \\  & Optimal combination & & A\({}_{1}\)B\({}_{1}\)C\({}_{1}\) & \\ \hline Softening Point & Range & 3.500 & 4.667 & 2.633 \\  & Optimal combination & & A\({}_{2}\)B\({}_{2}\)C\({}_{2}\) & \\ \hline
135 \({}^{\circ}\)C RV & Range & 504.300 & 618.367 & 117.467 \\  & Optimal combination & & A\({}_{1}\)B\({}_{2}\)C\({}_{2}\) & \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 5: OATS Analysis Results.  
1 The SK-90 and THFS were heated in a 120 \({}^{\circ}\)C and 150 \({}^{\circ}\)C oven respectively until they melted and were poured in a container.
2 The 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% THFS by weight of the SK-90 were added gradually around 1 g/min to SK-90.
3 After THFS was added to SK-90, the blending material was sheared for 45 min at the speed of 4000 rpm while maintaining a temperature of 150 \({}^{\circ}\)C to ensure that THFS was homogenously mixed and well dispersed inside the medium of SK-90.