Influence of Water Solute Exposure on the Chemical Evolution and Rheological Properties of Asphalt

Abstract

The properties of asphalt pavement are damaged under the effects of moisture. The pH value and salt concentration of water are the key factors that affect the chemical and rheological properties of asphalt during moisture damage. Four kinds of water solutions, including distilled water, an acidic solution, alkaline solution and saline solution were used to investigate the effects of aqueous solute compositions on the chemical and rheological properties of asphalt. Thin-layer chromatography with flame ionization detection (TLC-FID), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) were applied to investigate the components, chemistry and rheology characteristics of asphalt specimens before and after water solute exposure. The experimental results show that moisture damage of asphalt is not only associated with an oxidation process between asphalt with oxygen, but it is also highly dependent on some compounds of asphalt dissolving and being removed in the water solutions. In detail, after immersion in water solute, the fraction of saturates, aromatics and resins in asphalt binders decreased, while asphaltenes increased; an increase in the carbonyl and sulphoxide indices, and a decrease in the butadiene index were also found from the FTIR analyzer test. The rheological properties of asphalt are sensitive to water solute immersing. The addition of aqueous solutes causes more serious moisture damage on asphalt binders, with the pH11 solution presenting as the most destructive during water solute exposure.

Investigation of the Effect of Induction Heating on Asphalt Binder Aging in Steel Fibers Modified Asphalt Concrete

“…To test the effects of induction heating on these four components, asphalt binders induced heated in different conditions and times were tested through TLC-FID (Iatron Laboratories Inc., Tokyo, Japan). According to [23], two percent ( w / v ) solutions of asphalt binders were prepared in dichloromethane, and 1 µL sample solution was spotted on chromarods. There was a three-stage process for the separation of asphalt fractions.…”

“…Dramix steel fiber is a tough steel fiber, and it was coated with asphalt binder film to make an induction heating binder-fiber sample, while the asphalt concrete sample was cut from the rutting plate. After induction heating test of different times under different oxygen concentration, the internal asphalt binders were extracted for testing the aging indices with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) test, Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) test, and Four-Components Analysis (FCA) test [21,22,23].…”

Influence of Different Aging Environments on Rheological Behavior and Structural Properties of Rubber Asphalt

“…The resin and aromatic content in asphalt are basically the same under different aging conditions, while the content of the same component in base asphalt varies in different aging conditions. Therefore, rubber asphalt can retard or inhibit the aging of asphalt to a certain extent, and its anti-aging properties are better than those of the base asphalt [ 46 ].…”

Comparative Study of Thermal-Oxidative Aging and Salt Solution Aging on Bitumen Performance

“…For example, the stiffness of bitumen increased, and oxygen-containing functional groups were produced after solution immersion [ 18 ]. Pang [ 19 ] also found that solution immersion increased the asphaltene content and complex modulus and reduced the phase angle, which are typical characteristics of the oxidation of bitumen. Additionally, Yang and Wu [ 20 , 21 ] also found that the adhesion and cohesion of bitumen were deteriorated after solution immersion.…”