Relationships among Chemistry, Rheology, and Fracture/Fatigue Performance of Recovered Asphalt Binders and Asphalt Mixtures Containing Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement

Abstract

Because of limited amounts of natural resources, reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) has gained popularity in the asphalt pavement industry to meet sustainability requirements in asphalt pavement. Concerns have been raised in relation to the intermediate temperature cracking performance of asphalt mixtures containing RAP. The objective of this study was to evaluate the intermediate temperature cracking resistance of asphalt mixtures and recovered asphalt binders containing RAP. Seven plant-produced asphalt mixtures from three transportation agencies with various RAP contents and the extracted asphalt binders were evaluated with respect to intermediate temperature cracking resistance. Asphalt binder experiments included chemical and rheological characterization of recovered asphalt binders. Chemical characterization consisted of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and saturates/aromatics/resins/asphaltenes component analysis. Linear amplitude sweep and time sweep tests were also performed to characterize the rheological properties of asphalt binders. Asphalt mixture experiments included four-point bending beam fatigue and semi-circular bend tests. Results indicated that, as expected, asphalt mixtures with high RAP contents resulted in asphalt binders and mixtures with reduced cracking resistance. Relationships between the asphalt binder chemical and rheological parameters and asphalt mixture cracking resistance were also investigated. Asphalt binder rheological and chemical parameters were well correlated. Asphalt binder rheological parameters showed reasonable to strong relationships with the four-point bending beam fatigue test result. The work presented in this paper is part of FHWA Transportation Pooled Fund Project TPF-5(294) “Develop Mix Design and Analysis Procedure for Asphalt Mixtures Containing High RAP and/or RAS Contents.”

Use of Random Forest to Predict Intermediate Temperature SCB Jc Parameter of Long-Term Aged Asphalt Mixtures

“…The order of elution is related to the molecular weight (MW) of the component, specifically, high molecular weight components elute first, followed by molecules with ever-decreasing molecular weight. The relationships between component and molecular weights kDa (kilodaltons) are as follows: maltenes (0-3 kDa), asphaltene (3k–19 kDa), medium molecular weight (MMW) (19k–45 kDa), high molecular weight (HMW) (>45 kDa) ( 26 , 5 ).…”

“…Cracking is one of the distresses that has the greatest impact on asphalt pavements ( 1 – 3 ). With the growing use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), recycled asphalt shingles (RAS), and other innovative additives in asphalt mixtures, concerns about the accuracy of volumetric-based Superpave mixture design have recently been raised ( 4 , 5 ). It is necessary to include performance tests in mix design procedures to ensure desirable pavement performance.…”

Characterization of Asphalt Aging by Analytical Techniques: A Review on Progress and Perspectives

“…Hou et al 118 FTIR evaluation of variations in the CO and SO bands in the face of aging processes Yan et al 127 ATR-FTIR prediction of the history of the aging time and useful life of the asphalt Ahmad et al 119 FTIR application of mustard oil as an asphalt rejuvenator Hung and Fini 120 AFM-IR study of the morphology and chemical composition of bitumen aged by UV light Mirwald et al 121 FTIR study of the formation of carbonyls and sulfoxides in polar fractions during bitumen aging Arafat et al 122 portable FTIR use of portable FTIR equipment to assess recovered asphalt pavement. Wang et al 123 FTIR investigation of the use of carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide to increase the thermal stability of asphalt Barghabany et al 124 FTIR correlation of the variation of the physical and chemical properties with the variation of the IR bands Peng et al 125 FTIR addition of polyurethane based on lignin to improve asphalt adhesion in the face of UV radiation exposure Tarar et al 126 FTIR use of sunflower oil as an asphalt rejuvenator Yan et al 127 FTIR use of tung oil as a rejuvenator of asphalt Meng et al 128 ATR-FTIR identification of the origin and study of the quality of the asphalt…”