Evolution of bituminous mix behaviour submitted to UV rays in laboratory compared to field exposure

Abstract

Laboratory methods to simulate the short and long term ageing occurring during the service life of pure and polymer modified bitumens in a pavement are standardized but none of them takes into account the influence of ultraviolet (UV) radiations. Recently, attentions have been paid to the laboratory ageing tests with UV radiation applied to the bituminous binders. Even if this effect of UV radiation on binder’s films have been largely demonstrated and studied, however there are few studies dealing with the photo-oxidation of binders in a bituminous mix in relation with voids, film thickness and permeability. So, the aim of our study was to investigate whether the influence of UV light on bitumen ageing might be assessed in the bituminous mixes using an experimental apparatus dedicated to the ageing of paint. The results show that the influence of UV radiation on the ageing of bituminous mixes containing an elastomer modified bitumen can not be totally ignored: compared with thermal aging, the UV impact can be distinguished and found to be dominant for the production of carbonyl functions, the disappearance of C=C double bond of SBS and the increase of binder’s hardening. So, this study has highlighted, on the one hand, that inside the bituminous mix, the UV radiations do increase the rate of oxidation and, on the other hand, that the evolution’s kinetics due to a pure thermal oxidation or a photo-oxidation processes are different: the evolution due to 44 months of on site ageing is better assessed by photo-oxidation process than by pure thermal oxidation. Consequently, the UV exposure may affect the bitumen’s properties of pavement upper layers more strongly than the PAV simulation in laboratory (without UV action) does.