Assessment of the aging level of rejuvenated hot mixed asphalt concrete pavements

Abstract

The efficacy of asphalt rejuvenator on restoring the properties of oxidatively aged asphalt was tested via a non-collinear ultrasonic subsurface wave mixing technique modified for field use. Longitudinal transducers were mounted on angle wedges to generate subsurface dilatational waves to allow for pavement evaluation when there is only access to one side. Because in the field the asphalt concrete (AC) pavement properties (i.e., ultrasonic velocities and attenuations) are unknown, a pre-determined fixed incident angle (based on the AC mixture type) was used, which allows for practical implementation in the field. Oxidative aged AC specimens were coated with rejuvenator (10% by weight of the binder) and left to dwell for varying amounts of time. Once the dwell time reached the desired amount, the specimen was immediately ultrasonically tested. The frequency ratio, f 2 /f 1 , at which the interaction took place and the normalized nonlinear wave generation parameter, β/β 0 , were recorded and compared against a reference plot. It was observed that the rejuvenator had the effect of restoring the nonlinear properties to those corresponding to a virgin sample after a sufficient amount of dwell time. The ability of the rejuvenator to fully penetrate and act on the binder was observed to be dependent on the porosity and aggregate structure, and thus varied for each specimen. As a result, some portions of the binder were restored to a greater extent than others. This non-uniform nature was captured via the nonlinear ultrasonic technique.