Investigation of the effect of long-term aging on the high- and low-temperature performance of bitumen

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
M. M. Dadaei 1
P. Hajikarimi 1
M. Rahi 2
M. Dastoori Razaz 3
B. Tahmasbi 3
F. Moghadas Nejad 1
1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran
2 Dept. of Research and Development, Pasargad Oil Company, Tehran, Iran
3 Dept. of Research and Development, Pasargad Oil Company, Abadan, Iran
10.22034/25.3.6
Abstract
Accurate analysis of bitumen behavior as a viscoelastic material and its natural phenomena such as aging are important issues in pavement engineering. Therefore, controlling the low and high temperature properties of bitumens is essential to prevent low temperature cracking and common high temperature distress in order to provide proper service throughout the pavement life. In this study, the aging phenomenon and its effects on the mechanical properties of bitumens were simulated using the Superpave method, namely the RTFOT method for short-term aging and the PAV method for long-term aging. In order to investigate the effect of repeated PAV cycles on the properties of bitumens, three types of bitumen with different penetration degrees of 40-50 (PG70-16), 60-70 (PG64-22) and 85-100 (PG58-28) were selected and three samples of each were subjected to one to three PAV aging times. The beam shear rheometer (BBR) test was performed at three temperatures from 0 to -12°C and the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) at seven temperatures from 46 to 82°C. Based on the results obtained, the high temperature performance of the bitumens increased by a maximum of three grades and their low temperature performance increased by a maximum of two grades. In other words, the grading of the triple bitumens, after three times of PAV, became 82-4, 82-10, and 70-16, respectively. Also, the relationship between the high temperature performance properties of the aged bitumens and their chemical changes at different times of aging was investigated and their changes were examined to show the correlation between these properties. The results showed that the high temperature viscoelastic properties and the chemical aging index of the different bitumens had a strong linear relationship with a coefficient of determination (R2) of more than 0.9.

Keywords

Subjects

[1] et al. Ma, L., “Comprehensive review on the transport and reaction of oxygen and moisture towards coupled oxidative ageing and moisture damage of bitumen.,” Constr. Build. Mater. 283, 122632., 2021.
[2] “Eurobitume. 2015. The bitumen industry—A global perspective: Produc- tion, chemistry, use, specification and occupational exposure. Brussels, Belgium: European Association of Bitumen Producers.”.
[3] RMTO, “Iran’s Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization (RMTO). Retrieved from http://www.rmto.ir,” 2022.
[4] M. M. R. M Arabani, “Investigating the Effects of Aging on Moisture Damage of Hot Mix Asphalt containing Wetfix Additive and Granite and Limestone Aggregates,” J. Transp. Infrastruct. Eng., vol. 9 (3), pp. 23–38, 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.22075/jtie.2023.31971.1652.
[5] M. N. Siddiqui and M. F. Ali, “Studies on the aging behavior of the Arabian asphalts,” Fuel, vol. 78, no. 9, pp. 1005–1015, 1999.
[6] B. Ma, Y. Hu, W. Si, K. Wei, and X. Chang, “Study on the temperature control effects of an epoxy resin composite thermoregulation agent on asphalt mixtures,” Constr. Build. Mater., vol. 257, p. 119580, 2020.
[7] I. L. Al-Qadi et al., “Development of long-term aging protocol for implementation of the Illinois flexibility index test (I-FIT),” FHWA-ICT-19-009, 2019.
[8] F. L. Roberts, P. S. Kandhal, E. R. Brown, D.-Y. Lee, and T. W. Kennedy, “Hot mix asphalt materials, mixture design and construction,” 1996.
[9] H. Soenen, X. Lu, and O.-V. Laukkanen, “Oxidation of bitumen: Molecular characterization and influence on rheological properties,” Rheol. acta, vol. 55, pp. 315–326, 2016.
[10] J. C. Petersen et al., “Binder characterization and evaluation: Volume 1,” Rep. No. SHRP-A-367, Strateg. Highw. Res. Program, Natl. Res. Counc. Washington, DC, 1994.
[11] F. Migliori and J.-F. Corté, “Comparative study of RTFOT and PAV aging simulation laboratory tests,” Transp. Res. Rec., vol. 1638, no. 1, pp. 56–63, 1998.
[12] H. Liu, Z. Zhang, Z. Tian, and C. Lu, “Exploration for uv aging characteristics of asphalt binders based on response surface methodology: insights from the uv aging influencing factors and their interactions,” Constr. Build. Mater., vol. 347, p. 128460, 2022.
[13] S.-C. Huang, M. Tia, and B. E. Ruth, “Laboratory aging methods for simulation of field aging of asphalts,” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 147–152, 1996.
[14] B. Hofko, D. Maschauer, D. Steiner, J. Mirwald, and H. Grothe, “Bitumen ageing – Impact of reactive oxygen species,” Case Stud. Constr. Mater., vol. 13, p. e00390, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.cscm.2020.e00390.
[15] S. Xu et al., “Aging evaluation of base and SBS modified bitumens under the coupling effect of multiple aging factors,” Constr. Build. Mater., vol. 348, p. 128670, 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.128670.
[16] E. Braswell et al., “Refinement of climate-, depth-, and time-based laboratory aging procedure for asphalt mixtures,” Transp. Res. Rec., vol. 2675, no. 2, pp. 207–218, 2021.
[17] J. Ma, P. Singhvi, H. Ozer, I. L. Al-Qadi, and B. K. Sharma, “Brittleness progression for short- and long-term aged asphalt binders with various levels of recycled binders,” Int. J. Pavement Eng., vol. 22, no. 11, pp. 1399–1409, 2021, doi: 10.1080/10298436.2019.1694677.
[18] Y. Qian, F. Guo, Z. Leng, Y. Zhang, and H. Yu, “Simulation of the field aging of asphalt binders in different reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) materials in Hong Kong through laboratory tests,” Constr. Build. Mater., vol. 265, p. 120651, 2020.
[19] P. Singhvi, J. J. García Mainieri, H. Ozer, B. K. Sharma, and I. L. Al-Qadi, “Effect of chemical composition of bio-and petroleum-based modifiers on asphalt binder rheology,” Appl. Sci., vol. 10, no. 9, p. 3249, 2020.
[20] M. Jamal and F. Giustozzi, “Enhancing the asphalt binder’s performance against oxidative ageing and solar radiations by incorporating rubber from waste tyres,” Constr. Build. Mater., vol. 350, p. 128803, 2022.
[21] D. ASTM, “Standard test method for determining the flexural creep stiffness of asphalt binder using the bending beam rheometer (BBR),” ASTM West Conshohocken, PA, 2008.
[22] H. Qiu, X. Tan, S. Shi, and H. Zhang, “Influence of filler–bitumen ratio on performance of modified asphalt mortar by additive,” J. Mod. Transp., vol. 21, pp. 40–46, 2013.
[23] S. Aflaki and P. Hajikarimi, “Implementing viscoelastic rheological methods to evaluate low temperature performance of modified asphalt binders,” Constr. Build. Mater., vol. 36, pp. 110–118, 2012.
[24] H. F. Brinson and L. C. Brinson, “Polymer engineering science and viscoelasticity,” An Introd., vol. 99, p. 157, 2008.
[25] F. Zhang, L. Wang, C. Li, and Y. Xing, “Predict the phase angle master curve and study the viscoelastic properties of warm mix crumb rubber-modified asphalt mixture,” Materials (Basel)., vol. 13, no. 21, p. 5051, 2020.
[26] M. M. Dadaei, F. Moghadas Nejad, and P. Hajikarimi, “Investigation of the effect of global warming on the bitumen performance grading of Iran,” J. Transp. Infrastruct. Eng., vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 17–32, 2023.
Modares Civil Engineering journal
Volume 25, Issue 3 - Serial Number 83
July and August 2025
Pages 61-72