Understanding the bitumen ageing phenomenon: A review

Applications of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technologies on asphalt materials

A review on solutions for improving rutting resistance of asphalt pavement and test methods

Identification of asphalt aging characterization by spectrophotometry technique

Absorption spectroscopy to determine the extent and mechanisms of aging in bitumen and asphaltenes

In this experimental study, we explore the broadening of the glass transition in chemically and structurally complex glass-forming liquids (CGFLs) by means of thermal and rheological characterization techniques. Petroleum fluids with different levels of chemical and structural complexity are used as model materials. Thermal characterization by temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TMDSC) reveals a systematic increase in the width of the glass transition region ΔTg with increasing chemical and structural complexity. The broadening of the glass transition is also strongly reflected in the linear viscoelastic properties that are measured by small-diameter parallel plate rheometry. Most notably, this is observed as the broadening of the relaxation time spectrum at long times. The recently proposed broadened power-law spectrum model is used to describe the constitutive behavior of the investigated petroleum fluids. In this model, the stretching parameter β serves as a quantitative measure of the spectral broadening. A strong power-law correlation is found between ΔTg and β, manifesting a relationship between the broadness of the calorimetric and viscoelastic glass transition in CGFLs.

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Systematic broadening of the viscoelastic and calorimetric glass transitions in complex glass-forming liquids

An interlaboratory study was conducted among 20 European road asphalt laboratories, to screen current test protocols for testing low temperature properties of asphalt binders using a Dynamic Shear ...

Interlaboratory study on low temperature asphalt binder testing using Dynamic Shear Rheometer with 4 mm diameter parallel plate geometry

It has been recognized that Polymer Modified Bitumens (PMB) have more potential for use in asphalt paving and can clearly demonstrate the value of their initial higher cost. To further assess susta ...

Evaluation of test sections with Polymer Modified Bitumens

To measure bitumen low temperature rheological properties, a new test protocol using a dynamic shear rheometer with 4 mm parallel plates (or called 4-mm DSR) has been proposed in the US. In this paper, a series of experiments including different procedures of sample preparation were carried out to evaluate the 4-mm DSR. Comparison was made with the bending beam rheometer (BBR). The results obtained show that the 4-mm DSR can perform rheological tests at very low temperatures (down below −30 °C). With this new geometry, very little amount of sample is required, making it particularly suitable for study of field aging. There are correlations between complex modulus measured by the 4-mm DSR and creep stiffness by BBR, between phase angle and m-value, as well as between the limiting temperatures determined by the two test methods. With BBR data at 60 s loading time, higher correlation coefficients were observed at lower DSR frequencies or at a frequency corresponding to the 60 s loading time. The correlations seem also to be affected negatively by the waxes of bitumen, probably due to large differences in sample sizes that cause different thermal histories in DSR and BBR, making wax crystallization or physical hardening and its effect on rheology very different. In addition, common DSR with 8-mm plates can be applied to certain low temperatures, depending on instrument compliance and binder stiffness.

Hilde Soenen

Papers

Systematic broadening of the viscoelastic and calorimetric glass transitions in complex glass-forming liquids

Interlaboratory study on low temperature asphalt binder testing using Dynamic Shear Rheometer with 4 mm diameter parallel plate geometry

Evaluation of test sections with Polymer Modified Bitumens

Rheological Testing of Bitumen at Low Temperatures with 4-mm DSR