Proposed Changes to Asphalt Binder Specifications to Address Binder Quality-Related Thermally Induced Surface Damage

Superpave specifications address binder properties that may lead to rutting, transverse cracking, and fatigue damage with varying degrees of success. However, asphalt binder production and formulation has significantly changed and introduced much more variability in relation to quality since the development of the Superpave Performance-Grade system because of economic, technical, and environmental reasons. Consequently, aged-induced surface distresses under combined thermal and traffic loading have become the main challenge for highway agencies. Thermally induced surface deterioration appears in the form of traditional transverse cracking, block cracking, and raveling, or accelerating damage at construction joints. This study evaluated the limitations of the proposed linear viscoelastic (LVE) rheological cracking surrogates, such as ΔTc, R-value, and G-R parameters, and the ability of the Asphalt Binder Cracking Device (ABCD) failure test to overcome these limitations. ABCD is particularly appropriate to rank binder performance because the measured cracking temperature (Tcr) encompasses binder LVE properties, failure strength, coefficient of thermal contraction, and cooling rate. The proposed parameter (ΔTf = Tc(S = 300 MPa) from BBR—Tcr from ABCD) relates the failure temperature to the equi-stiffness temperature and gives credit to well-formulated and compatible polymer-modified binders expected to increase binder strength and strain tolerance. This paper proposes a specification framework based on both ΔTc and ΔTf, universally applicable, regardless of binder composition. Additionally, preliminary purchase specification limits for binders used in surface layers are proposed based on the analysis of 44 binders, 15 with corresponding field performance data. Obviously, as confirmed by a recent stakeholder workshop and industry feedback, these preliminary specification limits need further validation and possible adjustments to account for regional experience and local challenges.

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High-Temperature Performance Evaluation of Asphaltenes-Modified Asphalt Binders

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules25153326 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (15) ◽

pp. 3326

Author(s):

Amirhossein Ghasemirad ◽

Nura Bala ◽

Leila Hashemian

Keyword(s):

High Temperatures ◽

High Performance ◽

Asphalt Binder ◽

Viscoelastic Behavior ◽

Asphalt Binders ◽

Performance Grade ◽

Modified Binders ◽

Linear Viscoelastic Behavior ◽

Linear Viscoelastic ◽

Gravity Driven

Asphalt binder comprises four main fractions—asphaltenes (A), saturates (S), aromatics (A), and resins (R)—referred to as “SARA”. Asphaltenes plays an important role in determining the linear viscoelastic behavior of asphalt binders. In this research, asphaltenes are added as a distinct modifier to improve the performance properties of asphalt binder. The modified binders are aged using a rolling thin film oven. A dynamic shear rheometer is then used to measure the rheological properties of the binders at high temperatures. Changes in the chemical composition of the modified binders are also studied through the determination of SARA fractions, using precipitation and gravity-driven chromatography methods. The rheological results show that asphaltenes improve the stiffness and elasticity of asphalt binder. It is also shown that the addition of asphaltenes raises the high Performance grade (PG) temperature of the asphalt binder, with every 6% of asphaltenes added resulting in a one-interval increase in high PG temperature grade. SARA analysis shows that the increase in polar fraction content due to the addition of asphaltenes causes the stiffness, elasticity, and viscosity of asphalt binders to increase. The results indicate that asphaltenes are an effective yet inexpensive additive to improve asphalt binder properties at high temperatures.

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Field Validation of New Superpave Low-Temperature Binder Specification Procedure: Performance Data from Pennsylvania Test Sections

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.3141/1728-09 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 1728 (1) ◽

pp. 60-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Raj Dongré ◽

Mark G. Bouldin ◽

Dean A. Maurer

Keyword(s):

Low Temperature ◽

Asphalt Binder ◽

Asphalt Binders ◽

Direct Tension ◽

Transverse Cracking ◽

Performance Grade ◽

Temperature Performance ◽

Test Road ◽

Low Temperature Performance ◽

And Performance

A new specification procedure was proposed recently to determine the low-temperature performance grade of asphalt binders. This new procedure uses bending beam rheometer (BBR) and direct tension test (DTT) data at two temperatures to determine the low-temperature grade of an asphalt binder. A study was conducted to validate this procedure by using asphalt binder retained samples from the widely published test road in Pennsylvania. This road was constructed in 1976 in Elk County, and performance—including low-temperature transverse cracking index—was monitored over 6 years. In this study, the retained binder samples from test sections T-1 to T-6 were tested with the BBR and the new Superpave® DTT. The data from these two tests were analyzed to obtain critical cracking temperatures and low-temperature performance grades. Results indicate that the new procedure correctly predicts the temperature at which cracking was observed in the field.

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Universal and practical approach to evaluate asphalt binder resistance to thermally-induced surface damage

Construction and Building Materials ◽

10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119331 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 255 ◽

pp. 119331 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michael Elwardany ◽

Jean-Pascal Planche ◽

Gayle King

Keyword(s):

Asphalt Binder ◽

Surface Damage ◽

Practical Approach ◽

Thermally Induced

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Effect of Healing on Fatigue Law Parameters of Asphalt Binders

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.3141/2293-12 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2293 (1) ◽

pp. 96-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Arianna Stimilli ◽

Cassie Hintz ◽

Zhijun Li ◽

Raul Velasquez ◽

Hussain U. Bahia

Keyword(s):

Fatigue Life ◽

Asphalt Binder ◽

Rest Period ◽

Power Laws ◽

Asphalt Binders ◽

Traffic Loading ◽

Damage Level ◽

Rest Periods ◽

Pavement Structure ◽

Number Of Cycles

Asphalt binder has the ability to self-heal during rest periods when repetitive loading is applied. Studying the effect of rest on fatigue law parameters provides useful insight into the healing capabilities of asphalt binders. Currently, standard testing and analysis procedures to quantify asphalt binder healing capability are limited and difficult to implement in practice. Fatigue is known to depend on both traffic loading and pavement structure. Power law relations (e.g., Nf = Aγ−B) are commonly used for fatigue analysis of pavement materials. Power laws are used to estimate fatigue life (i.e., number of cycles to failure, Nf) as a function of load amplitude (e.g., strain, γ), which is a reflection of the pavement structure. In this study, testing consisted of strain-controlled time sweeps in the dynamic shear rheometer with a single rest period inserted at a specified damage level. With the selected test, the effect of healing on the relationship between fatigue life and strain was investigated. Nine neat and modified binders were tested. Healing testing was conducted at multiple age levels and strains. Healing that resulted from a single rest period had an insignificant effect on fatigue performance compared with modification and oxidative aging. Although this paper highlights the challenges of using few rest periods to predict healing potential, preliminary results of testing with multiple rest periods show the importance of healing. Further investigation is needed to verify the effect of multiple rest periods on binder fatigue.

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Thermally Induced Transverse Cracking in Graphite-Epoxy Cross-Ply Laminates

Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites ◽

10.1177/073168448600500301 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 152-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Daniel S. Adams ◽

David E. Bowles ◽

Carl T. Herakovich

Keyword(s):

Thermally Induced ◽

Transverse Cracking

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Rheology of Asphalt Binder Modified with 5W30 Viscosity Grade Waste Engine Oil

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app8071194 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (7) ◽

pp. 1194 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Touqeer Shoukat ◽

Pyeong Jun Yoo

Keyword(s):

Asphalt Binder ◽

Thermal Cracking ◽

Engine Oil ◽

Test Results ◽

Colloidal Systems ◽

Oxidative Aging ◽

Waste Engine Oil ◽

Performance Grade ◽

Oil Fraction ◽

Rotational Viscosity

The pavement structure tends to shrink under low temperature conditions and cracks will appear upon crossing threshold binder stiffness. Decreasing the binder viscosity at such low temperatures, by introducing additional oil fraction (aromatics and saturates) in asphalt colloidal systems, may result in improved resistance to thermal cracking. A single multi-grade engine oil (5W30) was used in this study to analyze the rheological properties imparted to binders. Rotational Viscosity (RV) test revealed that after Rolling Thin Film Oven (RTFO) aging, fresh oil and waste oil have a similar effect on decreasing the viscosity of binder and construction temperatures, reducing them by 5~8 °C. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) test results showed an abrupt increase of carbonyl concertation when fresh engine oil was used for rejuvenation while waste engine oil was less susceptible to oxidative aging. Dynamic analysis of modified binders proved that engine oil has better thermal cracking resistance but relaxation ability of binders and rutting resistance was impaired. Filtered waste engine oil resulted in a 35% decrement in the stiffness of binder compared to virgin asphalt after short term aging but upper Performance Grade (PG) was compromised by 1~3 °C with 2.5% oil inclusion. Unfiltered waste engine oil proved to have the least overall performance compared to fresh and filtered waste engine oil.

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Low-temperature performance grade characterisation of asphalt binder using the dynamic shear rheometer

International Journal of Pavement Engineering ◽

10.1080/10298436.2020.1774766 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Zhe ‘Alan’ Zeng ◽

B. Shane Underwood ◽

Cassie Castorena

Keyword(s):

Low Temperature ◽

Asphalt Binder ◽

Dynamic Shear ◽

Dynamic Shear Rheometer ◽

Performance Grade ◽

Temperature Performance ◽

Low Temperature Performance

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Effects of WMA Additive on the Rheological Properties of Asphalt Binder and High Temperature Performance Grade

Advances in Materials Science and Engineering ◽

10.1155/2015/467891 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jiupeng Zhang ◽

Guoqiang Liu ◽

Li Xu ◽

Jianzhong Pei

Keyword(s):

Critical Temperature ◽

Rheological Properties ◽

Asphalt Binder ◽

Aging Effect ◽

Asphalt Binders ◽

Short Term ◽

Performance Grade ◽

Temperature Performance ◽

Effects Of Temperature ◽

Increasing Temperature

Sasobit additives with different dosages were added into 70# and 90# virgin asphalt binders to prepare WMA binders. The rheological properties, includingG∗andδ, were measured by using DSR at the temperature ranging from 46°C to 70°C, and the effects of temperature, additive dosage and aging onG∗/sin⁡δ, critical temperature, and H-T PG were investigated. The results indicate that WMA additive improvesG∗but reducesδ, and the improvement on 70# virgin binder is more significant.G∗/sin⁡δexponentially decreases with the increasing temperature but linearly increases with the increasing additive dosage. Aging effect weakens the interaction between binder and additive but significantly increases the binder’s viscosity; that is whyG∗/sin⁡δis higher after short-term aging. In addition, the critical temperature increases with the increasing additive dosage, and the additive dosage should be more than 3% and 5% to improve H-T PG by one grade for 70# and 90# virgin binder, respectively.

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Rheological characterization of asphalt binders treated with bio sealants for pavement preservation

Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering ◽

10.1139/cjce-2017-0058 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 45 (5) ◽

pp. 407-412

Author(s):

Debaroti Ghosh ◽

Mugurel Turos ◽

Ed Johnson ◽

Mihai Marasteanu

Keyword(s):

Rheological Properties ◽

Asphalt Binder ◽

Field Investigation ◽

Asphalt Binders ◽

Rheological Characterization ◽

Softening Effect ◽

Laboratory Findings ◽

Pavement Preservation ◽

Performance Grade ◽

Water Based

Pavement preservation is playing an increasingly significant role in maintaining our aged pavement infrastructure under severe budget constraints. One important component is the use of surface treatments based on application of sealants. Recently, a number of new products, called bio sealants, have been used to treat aging pavement surfaces. The objective of this study is to investigate rheological properties of the binders treated with these materials to understand the mechanism by which they may improve pavement performance. One plain asphalt binder and four types of sealants, two oil-based sealants, one water-based sealant, and one traditional emulsion were used in the experimental work. The results obtained using a dynamic shear rheometer and a bending beam rheometer were used to determine the changes in rheological properties and the change in performance grade. It was observed that the oil-based sealants have a significant softening effect of the control binder compared to the water-based sealants. The transverse cracking histories from field investigation were used to verify the laboratory findings.

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