Production Of Asphalt Mixtures Research Articles

Studies on Characterisation of SBS Polymer Modified and Neat Bituminous Mixes Using Warm Mix Asphalt for Paving Applications

With increasing concerns of global warming and increasing exhausation of gases, the asphalt industry looking for alternative for hot mix asphalt (HMA). Warm mix asphalt (WMA) is a fast emerging new technology which has a potential of revolutionalizing the production of asphalt mixtures. WMA technology allows the mixing, lay down and compaction of asphalt mixes at significantly lower temperatures compared to hot mix asphalt (HMA). The technology can reduce production temperatures by as much as 30 percent. Asphalt mixes are generally produced at 150°C or greater temperatures depending mainly on type of binder used. WMA mixes can be produced at temperatures of about 120°C or lower. In this study an attempt has been made to compare HMA (VG-30 and WMA (SBS-PMB-40) with organic additives (Zycotherm, Sasobit and Evotherm) with various dosages on Marshall properties for Dense Bituminous Macadam (DBM), Grade-2. the adopted mixing temperatures for HMA was 155°C, 130°C, and 120°C and mixing temperature for WMA was 130°C and 120°C. The laboratory study concludes that stability and Marshall properties for WMA mix were improved by addition of additives.

The environmental impact of asphalt mixtures production for road infrastructure

Developed road infrastructure is a very significant factor which is influencing and conditioning the development of the economy and quality of transportation. Increasing demands for quality of road infrastructure lead to the construction of new roads. Moreover, the importance of keeping pavements in good condition increases proportionately with the increasing traffic. The construction of the road communications, their management and maintenance are material and energy consuming and the problem with the availability and exhaustion of resources is accretive. However, the development of road construction have to respect the protection of the environment, it have to be controlled and sustainable. Sustainable development ensures to meet subsistence for today’s and future generations and respects the natural functions of ecosystems. The paper is focused on the analysis of the factors arising from the production of asphalt mixtures for road infrastructure by asphalt mixing plants and their subsequent impact on the environment.

A Review of Asphaltic Crack Healing Approaches and Its Mechanism

The concept of self‐healing has an excellent potential to extend the life of asphalt pavement. This technology can be considered a sustainable technology due to its ability to reduce the utilization of asphalt mixture production materials used for road maintenance, polluting the environment. It is a complex physicochemical process wherein the molecular diffusion healing mechanisms in asphalt materials are inspired by self‐healing polymeric systems, which describe the self‐recovery behaviors based on polymer chain dynamics. Several methods have been adopted to improve the self‐healing of asphalt, one of which is induction healing. It is the process of heating the asphalt pavement incorporated with an electrically conductive material such as steel fibers, wherein asphalt healing is undertaken via electric field induction. Induction healing via induction heating occurs with eddy current where the electric current flows within the conductive fibers when magnetically susceptible under the magnetic field. Microwave heating is another self‐healing method similar to induction in which magnetic radiation is employed to treat asphalt mixtures instead of the electric field‐induced induction healing processes. The conductive fibers can absorb the electromagnetic (EM) waves to convert them into heat energy through doublet polarization, interface polarization, and electrical conduction dissipation when placed in the microwave field. These two types of heating systems, which are induction heating and microwave heating, are compared and discussed thoroughly in this study. Finally, some recommendations for the future development of self‐healing asphalt are proposed.

ДРУГИЙ СТАНДАРТ УКРАЇНИ НА БІТУМИ НАФТОВІ ДОРОЖНІ В’ЯЗКІ: ЗМІСТ ТА ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ

The first Ukrainian standard ДСТУ 4044 “Viscous petroleum road bitumens. Technical conditions” was implemented in 2002. According to its content and list of indicators, it met the level of the oil refining industry of Ukraine and the state of the road industry. In addition to conventional indicators, it included additional indicators of adhesion and mass content of paraffins. The indicator for paraffin remained unregulated, because there was neither acceptable method nor necessary equipment, and in generally an intention of manufacturers and users to apply it. The standard referred to in the article differs from the previous one by the principle of assigning indicators and their list. This is largely due to Ukraine’s accession to the European Free Trade Association and the deepening of scientific knowledge on predicting the behavior of bitumen under different conditions and their impact on the properties of asphalt concrete. Accordingly, the limits of normalization of bitumen grades on the depth of needle penetration were changed, which led to an increase in amount of grades from 4 to 5. Using the dependence of the penetration index on the softening point temperature, its new normative values are ordered. The Fraas breaking temperature provided by the standard is slightly lower than that normalized EN 12591 which is due the climatic conditions of Ukraine. The rate of adhesion of bitumen to the surface is normalized, which quantitatively characterizes the adhesion of bitumen to the mineral substrate, the least favorable for interaction. It is proposed to determine the indicators of technological aging by the RTFOT method. The standard contains additional indicators to be determined according to the harmonized European standards ДСТУ EN 12607-1 and ДСТУ EN 13302 (methods for determining the dynamic viscosity). Additional standards include equal viscous heating temperatures of bitumen in the production of asphalt mixtures and their compaction. The first is the temperature, which corresponds to a bitumen viscosity of 0.5 Pas, the second is 10 Pas. Elongation at a temperature of 0 ºC is included in the standard as a certain analogue of the breaking temperature. Based on the fact that at this time the next European standard is in the final stage before approval, the values of additional indicators can be included into this standard after adjusting their values with European ones based on the characteristics of bitumen used in Ukraine. Keywords: bitumen, depth of needle penetration, softening point temperature, adhesion, ductility, cohesion, heating.

Synthesis and characterization of zeolite-like additive: An eco-efficient asphalt mix production strategy

The objective of this study was to synthesize and characterize zeolite-like materials by mixing sodium aluminate, tetraethyl ammonium hydroxide (TEAOH) solution, and montmorillonite K10 (MMT K10); the final synthesis combination was termed as STEAM. Two different molar ratios of STEAM materials were modified into powdery form by hydrothermal reaction under specific curing conditions, which were blended with a viscosity grade VG-30 base asphalt binder. Conventional consistency tests reported that STEAM-modified asphalts reduced mixing and compaction temperatures by around 5–6 °C when compared to VG-30. Based on advanced rheological characterization, the STEAM modified binders showed improved rut-resistance characteristics than VG-30 by reducing non-recoverable creep compliance and increasing recovery parameters. Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of raw MMT K10 and STEAM additives indicated that MMT K10 was characteristic of high negative surface charge and multimodal polydispersity, while synthesized STEAM additives exhibited monomodal polydispersity and typically comprised of nano-sized particles. The powder XRD results of STEAM materials indicated the crystalline framework to be in similarity with “zeolite X, (Na)”. Thermal analysis of STEAM additives illustrated the presence of a higher amount of physically adsorbed water by more than 1.5–2 times than that of raw MMT K10. Overall, it is envisioned that the STEAM-modified asphalt binders will help reduce fuel consumption during the production of asphalt mixtures and qualify to be eco-efficient sustainable materials.

Towards the Valorization of Phosphate Wastes in bituminous materials

The phosphate production process generates millions of tons of wastes annually in Morocco. These mine tailings could have negative impacts that can be observed on the surrounding environment. Therefore, innovative strategies should be proposed to valorize the solid wastes. This paper investigates a new approach of phosphate waste valorization in producing asphalt mixtures which can be a cost-effective and eco-friendly solution for managing these wastes. The main goal of the presented study is to examine the feasibility of using three phosphate wastes for fabrication of bituminous materials and to discover the better waste to be added in asphalt mixtures. Many solid wastes are selected to be used as minerals fillers. it is showed that the viscous flow behavior of the asphalt binder containing phosphogypsum and fly ash wastes is substantially improved in compression of that of asphalt binder with phosphate sludge filler. In addition, it was observed that phosphogypsum waste can enhance the mechanical properties of asphalt binder as well as its performance against rutting in comparison to the others wastes.

Influence of recycled concrete aggregates from different sources in hot mix asphalt design

The waste generated by the construction industry generally has an undesired negative impact on both human and animal life as well as the environment. Among these wastes, recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), due to its good residual physical, mechanical, mineralogical, and chemical properties, has attracted promising potential for re-use and incorporation in the construction of new infrastructural elements. These infrastructure applications include construction of sidewalks, curb and gutters, subbase/base layers, and/or as a partial replacement of natural aggregates (NA) in the production of hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures. In this laboratory study, experimental research work was conducted to evaluate the influence of RCA on the mechanical properties and performance of RCA modified HMA mixtures against a control HMA mixture without any RCA. RCAs were obtained from two different concrete sources, namely: (a) one from the demolition of a building (RCAB), and (b) another one from the rehabilitation of a Portland cement concrete pavement (RCAP). Both NA and RCA were characterized taking into account physical and mechanical properties. HMA mixtures were produced using the Marshall mix-design method by replacing 0.0% (control), 15%, 30%, and 45%, respectively, of the coarse NA fraction with RCA. Thereafter, laboratory testing (i.e., Scanning Electron Microscopy [SEM], resilient modulus, indirect tensile strength, etc.) including material property characterization and performance evaluation were conducted on HMA samples. Overall, the laboratory test results showed that the RCA modified mixtures exhibited a similar behavior to conventional HMA mixtures, but with greater environmental benefits and potential cost savings through the recycling and reuse of waste concrete aggregates. However, it was observed that the laboratory performance of RCA modified mixtures is strongly dependent on the RCA source and dosage, with RCAP exhibiting superior performance over RCAB. HMA mixtures produced with RCA provided higher optimum asphalt-binder content (OAC) than that of mixes with NA.

Investigation the effect of short term aging on thermodynamic parameters and thermal cracking of asphalt mixtures modified with nanomaterials

Thermal or low temperature cracking is among the most common distresses in asphalt pavements, occurring in cold regions and exerting a detrimental effect on the quality and life of the pavement. Hardening or aging of asphalt binder in the process of production and service life of asphalt mixtures is known as a major factor impacting the durability of asphalt mixtures. This study investigated the effect of asphalt binder modification with two types of mineral nanomaterials, nano calcium carbonate (NCC) and nano hydrated lime (NHL), on the aging and thermal cracking of asphalt mixtures using thermodynamic and mechanical methods. To this end, 24 asphalt mixtures were prepared using limestone and granite aggregates with different mineralogical properties, two types of asphalt binder with PG of 64–16 and 58-22, and two types of nanomaterials, including NHL and NCC. Thermal cracking of asphalt mixtures was evaluated by mechanical semicircular bending (SCB) test based on AASHTO TP105, and thermodynamic tests of sessile drop and universal sorption device based on surface free energy (SFE) methods. The results of the SCB test indicated that aging significantly affected the values of maximum load, fracture energy, and fracture toughness. In addition, asphalt binder modification using NCC and NHL significantly increased the values of all three parameters mentioned above in both the control and aged samples. On the other hand, the results of thermodynamic tests demonstrated that the free energy of cohesion of PG 64–16 in both control and aged states was higher than that of PG 58-22. Accordingly, aging and modification of the control and aged asphalt binder using nanomaterials increased the cohesion energy of asphalt binder. Results also indicated that mixtures made with granite aggregates, in both aged and control states, had higher values of free energy of adhesion compared to mixtures made with limestone aggregates. Aging caused a decrease in the free energy of adhesion, which was much lower in the nano material modified samples in comparison with the control samples. The results of ANOVA and linear regression analysis also revealed that there was a significant and strong correlation between thermodynamic parameters of cohesion and adhesion energy and the maximum load, fracture energy, and fracture toughness parameters in examining the effects of aging and additives on thermal cracking. This indicates the high potential of thermodynamic methods in thermal cracking examination in asphalt mixtures.

Viability of producing sustainable asphalt mixtures with crumb rubber bitumen at reduced temperatures

The construction and maintenance of road pavements need to be undertaken to ensure proper economic and social growth. Considering the high environmental impact that the production of asphalt mixtures for road pavements entails, in terms of energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, these operations must follow the global transition towards more sustainable development practices. In response to this, previous research has been focused on the development of manufacturing low temperature asphalt mixtures and the use of recycled modifiers such as tire crumb rubber to improve their durability. However, the use of high dosages of the latter reduces mixture workability, thus requiring high manufacturing temperatures to reduce the viscosity of the binder, and therefore limiting the advancement towards more sustainable mixtures. In this regard, further knowledge is needed on this topic to promote the combination of such techniques to maximise their advantages. This study aims to check the viability of producing asphalt mixtures with high crumb rubber contents at reduced temperatures, testing their workability, stiffness, cohesion, resistance to permanent deformations and resistance to moisture damage. Results show that it is possible to manufacture viable, warm, rubberised asphalt mixtures at 150 °C using a high penetration bitumen and reduce this temperature to 130 °C (45 °C less than conventional rubberised asphalt mixtures) by including warm additives, without compromising their mechanical performance.

Evaluating the effect of electric arc furnace steel slag on dynamic and static mechanical behavior of warm mix asphalt mixtures

Two of the major goals of sustainable development in transportation infrastructure are to reduce energy consumption and conserve natural resources. The production of asphalt mixtures involves consuming high amounts of energy and nonrenewable natural resources. This study investigated the use of Electric Arc Furnace Slag (EAFS) as a substitute for coarse aggregates in Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) mixtures. In the test specimens, 0, 25, 50, and 75% of natural coarse limestone (retained on 4.75 mm sieve) were replaced with EAFS. WMA specimens were also modified with Sasobit at a concentration of 1.5% by weight of bitumen. After testing the aggregates and EAFS, the Marshall method was used to determine the Optimum Bitumen Content (OBC) for 8 series of HMA and WMA mixtures. Because of the high porosity of EAFS particles, the mixtures containing this material showed a higher than normal OBC. To study their mechanical properties, the specimens were subjected to the Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) test, resilient modulus test (at 25 °C and 40 °C) and dynamic creep test at 40 °C. The results showed that because of the increased mixture stiffness in the presence of Sasobit and better interlocking of EAFS particles compared to limestone aggregates, the use of these materials improves the mechanical properties of WMA and HMA mixtures. The mechanical properties of the mixtures improved differently by the characteristics of the experiments and the type of loading. The most distinguished improvement was observed in the dynamic creep test (up to 343%) and the slightest improvement was observed in the ITS test (up to 17%).

Application of diluted methanol to allow the production of latex modified asphalt mixture with lower energy consumption

The modification of asphalt mixtures using latex has gained popularity in the asphalt industry as it improves the durability of road pavement. However, the elastomeric properties of latex stiffen the binder, resulting in more energy consumption during the asphalt mixture production. It would consequently cause a higher emission of greenhouse gases, which is undesirable for the human health and environment. This study aims to assess the applicability of diluted methanol as a foaming agent in asphalt mixture incorporating latex produced at a lower temperature. In this study, two designated amounts of diluted methanol (1% and 3% of the weight of asphalt binder) were successively injected with 6% latex into pre-heated asphalt binder at 135 °C in the preparation of foamed binders, while the control and latex modified asphalt mixtures were prepared at 160 °C. Tests of rotational viscosity, expansion rate, and torsional recovery were conducted to study the rheological properties of the mixtures. Service characteristics were evaluated through the indices of workability, compaction energy, and coatability. Moreover, mixture performance tests were carried out to identify the tolerance of the mixtures towards moisture damage, shear force, and permanent deformation. Through the rotational viscosity test, diluted methanol was found to reduce the viscosity of the asphalt binders, which is vital in the production processes at intermediate temperatures. The enhancement in viscosity using 3% diluted methanol had facilitated in higher workability, lower compaction energy, and better aggregate coating, which are the crucial criteria for a better mixing and compaction process. Whereby, a superior foaming quality was exhibited from the 3% diluted methanol application through the assessments of expansion ratio, half-life and foaming index. The moisture and shear resistances of the diluted methanol foamed asphalt mixtures are comparable to the control mixtures even though they were prepared at a lower temperature. Finally, the 3% diluted methanol foamed asphalt mixture promoted a better rutting resistance due to its ability to recover to the initial form which was demonstrated through its torsional recovery.

Influence of the aggregate skeleton matrix and volumetric composition on the resistance of stone mastic asphalt to permanent deformation

The influence of different aggregate skeleton matrices, as well volumetric composition and mixture stiffness, on the resistance of SMA to permanent deformation was assessed. Nine SMA with different optimised aggregate skeleton matrices, studied elsewhere, were now evaluated to permanent deformation with wheel tracking. The results were statistically analysed concerning relationship with specimens’ volumetric characteristics, Marshall properties and mixture stiffness. Aggregate skeleton optimised with the dry rodded compaction tend to produce asphalt mixtures similar to SMA designed with pre-established grading envelopes. SMA with aggregate skeleton optimised with Proctor and steel roller compaction showed higher coarse aggregates and binder contents, and thus, it is expected a better cracking resistance and durability for the same level of resistance to permanent deformation. Statistical analysis shows that the new proposed property (ratio between binder film thickness and porosity) and, ratio between Marshall stability and flow had the best correlations with permanent deformation properties.

Environmental assessment of existing pavements asphalt layers for production of new asphalt mixtures

Road construction requires a large amount of construction materials. During asphalt pavement construction it is natural aggregate and asphalt binder in particular. Their ratio varies depending on whether they are applied in an asphalt pavement as a wearing, binder or base course. Nowadays, pressure of public opinion on responsible environmental behaviour and effective use of financial resources create an optimal space for assessment of building materials from pavement layers. According to the EAPA (European Asphalt Pavement Association) data from 2017 the wearing courses accounted for 90 % of all pavement layers in European Union. In Slovakia their representation is also dominant. While in Western Europe reassessment of existing asphalt layers by recycling technologies has been used to the maximum, in Slovakia the reassessment was out of interest of construction companies. With the arrival of new machinery, legislation amendment and social pressure on responsible environmental behaviour, the strategy of some construction companies in Slovakia is also changing. The reassessment of existing asphalt layers for production of new asphalt mixtures goes to the forefront of the interest. This article summarizes necessary steps to achieve an increase in the re-use rate of R-material by hot-mix asphalt recycling technology in asphalt mixing plants.

Repair of road surfaces using cold wet fiber containing asphalt concrete mixtures

During the construction of experimental sections of road surfaces in v. Ust-Kurdyum of the Saratov district of the Saratov region has been established the efficiency of production and application of cold fiber-containing dispersed-reinforced asphalt concrete mixtures with dispersed bitumen. A method for accelerating the formation of the structure of cold fiber-containing asphalt concrete by heat treatment of its surface is studied. Dispersed bitumen after drying the water film has good adhesion to concrete, asphalt concrete and other materials. The asphalt concrete formed as a result of curing on the basis of dispersed bitumen is high-strength, chemical-resistant, hydrophobic and environmentally friendly, corresponding to the existing regulatory requirements for asphalt concrete. For the production of asphalt mixtures, mass-produced equipment is suitable using materials commonly used in hot asphalt concrete: crushed stone, sand, mineral powder and bitumen. Operations on drying and heating of crushed stone and sand are excluded from the technological process. Asphalt concrete mix does not stick to the surface of rubberized rollers of vibratory rollers, which allows compacting mixtures with a high content of mineral powder at any time. There are fewer cracks on the surface of the compacted layer than when using a smooth-rolling roller. The technology is recommended for extended use on roads and streets of localities, and highways with low traffic intensity.

Pavement aggregate shape classification based on extreme gradient boosting

Aggregate plays the role of skeleton filling in asphalt pavements. The shape of the aggregate affects the embedded structure between the aggregates, thus affecting the performance of asphalt concrete. In this study, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) classification is used to study the automatic shape classification of aggregates. The expression of main and microscopic features of aggregate was improved by transforming aggregate images into data, and a feature importance analysis method based on method fusion is proposed to select the feature parameters of aggregate morphology. Based on cross-validation, the XGBoost classification model was trained by optimizing the super parameter combination to complete the classification of aggregate shapes. Compared with the random forest model, the results show that the proposed method can effectively classify aggregate shapes. It is also proved that the two-dimensional images can reflect the three-dimensional features of the aggregate to some extent. This method provides a certain theoretical basis for the automatic classification of aggregate, and simultaneously it has important practical significance to promote the intelligent production of asphalt mixtures.

Investigating the ANN model for cracking of HMA in terms of temperature, RAP and fibre content

ABSTRACT Using high contents of the RAP material in newly produced asphalt mixtures leads to a reduction in the crack resistance of the mixtures. This shortcoming can be compensated using some methods such as polymer modification, rejuvenation, fibre-reinforcement, etc. In this paper, the effect of Cyclogen as a rejuvenator and glass fibre was investigated on the cracking behaviour of recycled asphalt mixtures. For this aim, the fracture energy and critical value of J integral (Jc)of semi-circular bending (SCB) asphalt specimens in terms of RAP content, Fibre content and testing temperature were investigated in this study and the results were used to develop an experimental model to predict the crack resistance of asphalt mixtures in terms of temperature and fibre and RAP content using the artificial neural network (ANN) and the multiple regression methods. The results indicated that the fracture energy and Jc valueof asphalt mixtures declined by increasing the RAP contentat intermediate temperatures. However, the reduction in fracture energy and Jc valuecould be compensated using the fibres. Both investigated models were appropriate for predicting the cracking behaviour of fibre-reinforced recycled asphalt mixtures. Nevertheless, the level of correlation was much higher for the ANN approach than the multiple regression model.

Ground Penetrating Radar Sensitivity to Marginal Changes in Asphalt Mixture Composition

Abstract Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is gaining renewed attention from many state highway agencies because of its promising application prospects for rapid, full-coverage, continuous, and nondestructive measurements of the density in newly constructed asphalt pavements. However, several operational and technical issues need to be addressed before this technology can be efficiently deployed for quality control/quality assurance practices. The operation-related challenges are relatively easily addressed with proper project-specific management practices. The technical ones, on the other hand, require improvements to the testing devices and procedures and strategic investigations for further understanding of the relationship between the GPR-measured dielectrics and the density of asphalt mixtures. The latter is particularly crucial given the production and construction variability of asphalt mixtures and the accepted practices of field adjustments to mix designs. This study investigated the sensitivity of dielectric measurements to changes in mix composition and assessed the appropriateness (or lack thereof) of using a single dielectric-density transfer model to analyze field data measured on multiple production days. The study examined asphalt mixtures designed and manufactured in the laboratory with varying amounts of limestone, a high-dielectric aggregate source, as well as plant-produced asphalt mixtures collected on multiple production days. The findings indicated that the source/composition of the aggregate structure affected density-dielectric relationships of asphalt mixtures considerably. On the contrary, the relationship appeared to be less sensitive to normal asphalt production variability (day to day variations) as long as the aggregate source proportions were maintained intact. The experimental investigation proposed in this study can be easily employed to determine the proper amount of calibration models or the extent of allowable adjustment to the mix design for asphalt pavement construction projects.

Evaluation of Different VMA Estimation Methods for Asphalt Mixtures Containing RAP

AbstractDuring asphalt mixture production, the bulk specific gravity (Gsb) of the mixture aggregate is not routinely measured to determine voids in the mineral aggregate (VMA), because this require...

Feasibility of using phosphate wastes for enhancing high-temperature rheological characteristics of asphalt binder

The huge amount of wastes is produced annually from the phosphate extraction process which causes environmental problems in terms of energy and pollution. Using these wastes for producing asphalt mixtures can be a cost-effective and eco-friendly solution for managing them. The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using phosphate wastes for fabrication of bituminous materials. Furthermore, the study objective is to discover the most effective waste to be included in asphalt mixtures. These wastes were acquired from the phosphate extraction plant, Ben Guerir city, Morocco. Phosphogypsum, fly ash, and dry phosphate sludge were the materials selected to be used as filler. Four samples were prepared, including an original asphalt binder as well as phosphogypsum, fly ash, and phosphate sludge asphalt samples. Classical characterization, viscous flow, frequency, and temperature sweep tests were carried out on these samples. The results showed that the viscous flow behavior of the asphalt binder containing phosphogypsum and fly ash wastes has been substantially more improved compared with binder with phosphate sludge filler. It was also shown that phosphogypsum waste enhances the mechanical properties of asphalt binder as well as its performance against rutting more than fly ash and phosphate sludge wastes.

Rheological characteristics of paving bitumens and recycled binder blends in relation to ageing

The amount of produced asphalt mixtures incorporating reclaimed asphalt has been steadily increasing in the past years and so has the use of recycling agents. Some countries in Europe and elsewhere have already come into contact with repeatedly recycled materials. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of long-term ageing on multiple recycled binder blends and thereby simulated a repeated recycling process. In order to be able to understand the behaviour and well describe the characteristics of recycled binder blends, the obtained results were compared to the behaviour (results) of paving bitumens and reclaimed binders (binders extracted from Reclaimed Asphalt). Each binder group was then described by empirical tests as specified in the harmonised standard for paving bitumens (EN 12591) as well as by performance parameters for assessing long–term embrittlement such as viscoelastic temperature (VET) and the Glover–Rowe (G–R) parameter. It was found that recycled binder blends exhibited similar or higher penetration compared to paving bitumens upon recycling as well as after ageing, but the softening point shifted to a higher temperature domain. Likewise, reclaimed binders’ properties were rather similar to long-term aged paving bitumens than to recycled binder blends. Furthermore, it was confirmed that a strong correlation between VET and G–R exists although different binder groups manifested different durability thresholds. Additionally, a relationship was found between VET, G–R and softening point. It was proved that usage of empirical tests can in some cases provide asphalt engineers with equivalent information about binder rheology as modern functional parameters in case of non-modified binders.