Analysis of Binder Aging Levels in Asphalt Mixture Caused by Short-term Aging Conditions Using the GPC Technique

Abstract

PURPOSES : This study aims to show the difference of the binder aging level in the hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixture after short-term aging (SA) under different aging conditions, such as mixture temperature and duration in hour. METHODS : Three SA times (i.e., 1 h, 2 h, and 4 h) at two temperatures (i.e., and ) were used for the normal mixtures prepared using a PG64-22 asphalt. The field long-term aging (LA) was simulated by applying the same LA procedure (65 h at ) to all compacted specimens, prepared at the air void of 7% using each SA-treated mixture, in a convection oven. The binder aging level was measured in terms of large molecular size by gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) from the mixture and the absolute viscosity (AV) from the recovered binder. The aging levels were evaluated using those two properties after SA and LA, and then compared based on the normal SA (NSA) mixture (1 h at ). The service life reduction caused by SA in various conditions was estimated based on the aging level of the field cores from different locations in various service lives. RESULTS : The results of the laboratory evaluation indicated that the binder of the mixture, which was treated at longer SA time and higher temperature, showed a significantly higher aging level than the NSA mixture. The binder aging level from a longer time, such as 2 h and 4 h SA, or at a higher temperature (), were estimated to be similar to that of the mixtures, which had already been in field service for several years. CONCLUSIONS : The HMA mixture should be produced at a moderate temperature, such as , and placed within a limited hauling and queuing time to avoid a significant short-term aging of the binder before placement in the field pavement. The SA for a longer time at a higher temperature than the NSA condition was found to be detrimental to the service life of the asphalt pavement.