Effects of different aging methods on chemical and rheological properties of bitumen

Journal article (2018)

Authors

G. Tarsi University of Bologna, Pavement Engineering - CEG
Aikaterini Varveri Pavement Engineering - CEG
Claudio Lantieri University of Bologna
Athanasios Scarpas Pavement Engineering - CEG
Cesare Sangiorgi University of Bologna
Research Group
Pavement Engineering (CEG) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2018 G. Tarsi, Aikaterini Varveri, Claudio Lantieri, Athanasios Scarpas, Cesare Sangiorgi
DOI
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https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002206
Rheology Bitumen Ageing Chemistry Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)
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Published Date

2018

Language

English

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Faculty

Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Department

Engineering Structures

Research Group

Pavement Engineering

Abstract

Bitumen undergoes ageing, which leads to changes in its chemical and rheological properties, causing it to become harder and more brittle with time. This study aims to compare the effects of different laboratory ageing methods on the chemistry and rheology of three bitumen types: a Pen 40=60, a Pen 70=100, and a polymer-modified bitumen (PmB). Four ageing protocols were applied: ageing at room temperature, oven ageing, pressure ageing vessel (PAV), and rolling thin-film oven test (RTFOT) combined with PAVageing. The effects of temperature, pressure, and ageing time were studied using dynamic shear tests and infrared spectroscopy. The results highlight the relationship between chemistry and rheology of bitumen. Bitumen hardening, which was revealed by an increase in complex modulus and a decrease in phase angle, was reflected in the growth of specific chemical functional groups. Among all materials, soft bitumen showed the greater tendency to oxidize. Different behavior was observed for PmB, which presented the highest resistance against oxidation among the studied bitumens, even though the reaction with oxygen caused the deterioration of the added polymer modifiers.