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Journal of the Transportation Research Board

TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD


NO.

1728

Asphalt Binders
2000
Materials and Construction
Click on article title to reach abstract; abstracts link to full textclick on Full Text icon.

CONTENTS
Foreword

Establishing Linear Viscoelastic Conditions for Asphalt Binders


Mihai O. Marasteanu and David A. Anderson

Effect of Film Thickness on Rheological Behavior of Asphalt Binders


Huachun Zhai, Hussain U. Bahia, and Signe Erickson

Damping of Shear Vibrations in Asphalt Modified with Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene Polymer


Jiri Stastna, Ludo Zanzotto, and Otaca Vacin

Distribution of Strains Within Hot-Mix Asphalt Binders: Applying Imaging and


Finite-Element Techniques
Sadi Kose, Murat Guler, Hussain U. Bahia, and Eyad Masad

Factors Affecting Variability in Strategic Highway Research Program Binder Tests


David A. Anderson, Mihai O. Marasteanu, James M. Mahoney, and Jack E. Stephens

Low-Temperature Fracture Testing of Asphalt Binders: Regular and Modified Systems


Todd R. Hoare and Simon A. M. Hesp

Evaluation of Moisture Susceptibility of Asphalt Mixtures: Conventional and New Methods


N. Paul Khosla, Brian G. Birdsall, and Sachiyo Kawaguchi

New Class of Reactive Polymer Modifiers for Asphalt: Mitigation of Moisture Damage
Glen A. Crossley and Simon A. M. Hesp

Field Validation of New Superpave Low-Temperature Binder Specification Procedure:


Performance Data from Pennsylvania Test Sections
Raj Dongr, Mark G. Bouldin, and Dean A. Maurer

New Class of Reactive Polymer Modifiers for Asphalt: Mitigation of Low-Temperature Damage
Glen A. Crossley and Simon A. M. Hesp

Crack Pinning in Asphalt Mastic and Concrete: Regular Fatigue Studies


Benjamin J. Smith and Simon A. M. Hesp

Transportation Research Record 1728


ISSN 0361-1981
ISBN 0-309-06731-6
Subscriber Category
IIIB materials and construction
Printed in the United States of America
Sponsorship of Transportation Research Record 1728
GROUP 2DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES
Raymond K. Moore, University of Nebraska at Lincoln (Chairman)
Bituminous Section
Gale C. Page, Florida Department of Transportation (Chairman)
Committee on Characteristics of Bituminous Materials
Michael Zupanick, Technologic Resources, Inc. (Chairman), David A. Anderson, R. Michael Anderson, Hussain U. Bahia,
Eileen Connolly, Charles J. Glover, Ilan Ishai, Paul W. Jennings, Gayle N. King, Robert Q. Kluttz, Anthony J. Kriech,
G. W. Maupin, Jr., Dean A. Maurer, Robert B. McGennis, A. Samy Noureldin, Cameron C. Petersen, Raymond E.
Robertson, Naga Shashidhar, Mang Tia, Leonard E. Wood, John S. Youtcheff, Jr., Ludo Zanzotto
Transportation Research Board Staff
Frederick D. Hejl, Engineer of Materials and Construction
Robert Summersgill, Administrative Assistant
The organizational units, officers, and members are as of December 31, 1999.

FOREWORD
The papers contained in this volume were among those presented at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research
Board in January 2000. Nearly 1,600 papers were submitted by authors; more than 1,000 were presented at the meeting; and
approximately 600 were accepted for publication in the 2000 Transportation Research Record series. The published papers will
also be issued on CD-ROM, which will be available for purchase in late 2000. It should be noted that the preprint CD-ROM
distributed at the 2000 meeting contains unedited, draft versions of presented papers, whereas the papers published in the
2000 Records include author revisions made in response to review comments.
Starting with the 1999 volumes, the title of the Record series has included Journal of the Transportation Research Board to
reflect more accurately the nature of this publication series and the peer-review process conducted in the acceptance of papers
for publication. Each paper published in this volume was peer reviewed by members of the sponsoring committee listed on
page ii. Additional information about the Transportation Research Record series and the peer-review process can be found on
the inside front cover. The Transportation Research Board appreciates the interest shown by authors in offering their papers and
looks forward to future submissions.

Establishing Linear Viscoelastic


Conditions for Asphalt Binders
Mihai O. Marasteanu and David A. Anderson
Pennsylvania State University, 201 Research Office Building, University Park, PA 16802.

FULL
TEXT

The linear viscoelastic regime is defined in terms of the constitutive relationship between the stress
and the strain. The set of equations that define the fundamental linear viscoelastic material properties in
the time and frequency domains and their relationship to one another is based on the validity of the
linearity principle. A material must obey two simultaneous conditions to be linear viscoelastic: the
homogeneity (also called proportionality) condition and the superposition principle. On the basis of
these considerations a testing procedure was developed to check linear viscoelastic conditions for tests
performed on asphalt binders with the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), the bending beam rheometer
(BBR), and direct tension (DT). The testing procedure for the DSR requires performing strain sweeps
and multiwave single-point tests. For the BBR, tests performed using different constant loads are
required. In addition, the recovery part of the specification test is recorded. For the DT, tests performed
at different strain rates and relaxation tests performed at different strain levels are required. When
applied to asphalt binder data, the testing procedure found no departure from viscoelastic conditions
for the DSR and BBR test data. However, the DT procedure indicated a departure from linear
viscoelastic conditions.

Effect of Film Thickness on Rheological


Behavior of Asphalt Binders
Huachun Zhai, Hussain U. Bahia, and Signe Erickson
H. Zhai and H. U. Bahia, The Asphalt Pavement Research Group, 2210 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Dr., University of
WisconsinMadison, Madison, WI 53706. S. Erickson, Payne & Dolan Inc., P. O. Box 781, Waukesha, WI 53187.

FULL
TEXT

In the current Superpave binder tests, the rheological properties of asphalt binders are determined by
the dynamic shear rheometer. The asphalt binders are tested using a gap size of either 1 or 2 mm. In the
asphalt mixture, the thickness of the asphalt film between aggregates can vary between a few microns
and a few millimeters. Because of the interaction between the asphalt and the aggregate, rheological
behavior in thin films can differ from the behavior determined at large gap sizes. In this study the
rheological properties of asphalt binders were measured at different gap sizes that simulate the range in
film thickness of a typical mixture. Significant changes in rheological properties were observed as the
gap size changed. The results indicate that different modified binders show different trends as the gap
size changes. A review of the literature was conducted for an explanation of this behavior. Four
mechanisms were offered to explain similar gap effects observed for other materials. Using the data
collected in this study, the disentanglement mechanism caused by adhesion to testing plates appears to
fit the observations for asphalt binders. The results suggest that the current gap settings in the binder
tests might not be sufficient to determine the performance of the binder in the mixture. The findings
also suggest that more work is required to understand the effect on the rheological behavior of asphalt
binders of physical and chemical interactions with aggregates.

Damping of Shear Vibrations in


Asphalt Modified with
Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene Polymer
Jiri Stastna, Ludo Zanzotto, and Otaca Vacin
Faculty of Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada.

FULL
TEXT

Shear vibrations in conventional and polymer-modified asphalt binders are examined. Using dynamic
compliances instead of moduli, viscous deformation effects can be separated from total deformation
and the modified dynamic loss compliance and modified loss tangent functions can be defined. These
two material functions appear to be more sensitive than viscoelastic moduli to the rheological behavior
of asphalt binders and to changes caused by polymer addition. The characteristic temperature of the
transition from the viscoelastic to viscous behavior of asphalt binder (Tv ) can be identified by using the
viscous asymptote J. The damping of shear vibrations that likely relates to the internal structure of
asphalt material can be described by the modified loss tangent. The rheological behavior of the base
asphalt 200/300 penetration grade and its blends with different amounts of radial styrene-butadienestyrene rubber is investigated. Using master curves of dynamic functions and the Williams-LandelFerry form of the shift factor, isochrones of the original and modified dynamic material functions are
constructed. Characteristic temperatures of the viscous transition (Tv ) and the glass transition (Tg ) are
determined. Damping behaviors of the base and modified asphalts are studied.

Distribution of Strains Within


Hot-Mix Asphalt Binders
Applying Imaging and Finite-Element Techniques
Sadi Kose, Murat Guler, Hussain U. Bahia, and Eyad Masad
S. Kose, M. Guler, and H. U. Bahia, University of Wisconsin Asphalt Group, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
1415 Engineering Drive, 2210 Engineering Hall, Madison, WI 53706. E. Masad, Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2910.

FULL
TEXT

Because of several orders of magnitude difference between the stiffness of aggregate and binder and the
randomness of the binder domain boundaries, the induced deformation under loading can result in a
wide distribution of stresses and strains within each of the components. It is expected that although
aggregates undergo small strains, most of the strain will accumulate within the binder. Although studies
have covered the micromechanics of hot-mix asphalt (HMA), information about the actual typical
distribution of asphalt binder domains in HMA and the resulting distribution of stresses and strains
is scarce. In this study, advances in imaging techniques are applied to understand the distribution of
binder and air voids in selected HMAs. The objective is to determine the strain distribution within
the binder using digitized images analyzed with finite-element procedures. This approach captures
the image of the specimen cross section and converts the image into finite-element mesh after image
processing. The images are converted to finite-element mesh and the finite-element program ABAQUS
provides numerical solutions to relate bulk stresses or strains applied to the asphalt mixture to stresses
and strains within the binder domains. The results are presented including a summary of the
distribution of directional binder film thickness and maximum strains in the mastic domain. Also
included is a discussion of the effect of air voids and mineral fillers.

Factors Affecting Variability in Strategic


Highway Research Program Binder Tests
David A. Anderson, Mihai O. Marasteanu, James M. Mahoney, and
Jack E. Stephens
D. A. Anderson and M. O. Marasteanu, Pennsylvania State University, 201 Research Office Building, University Park,
PA 16802. J. M. Mahoney and J. E. Stephens, Connecticut Advanced Pavement Laboratory, University of Connecticut,
179 Middle Turnpike, U-202, Storrs, CT 06269-5202.

FULL
TEXT

Two binder technician workshops were held in January 1998, one at the Connecticut Advanced
Pavement Laboratory at the University of Connecticut and one at the Northeast Center of Excellence
for Paving Technology at Pennsylvania State University. These workshops were followed by a second
set in 1999. The overall objective was to improve the repeatability of the test methods used to grade
Superpave asphalt binders. During the workshops, participants demonstrated and discussed the
techniques used in their own laboratories. A document, Manual of Practice for Testing Asphalt Binders
in Accordance with the Superpave PG Grading System, was developed for use by asphalt binder
technicians and as a training aid for a proposed binder technician certification program. The results of
the discussions that were held during the workshops and the items that are presented in the manual of
practice are summarized. The results were grouped into four main categories: (a) handling, sampling,
and sample preparation; (b) temperature measurements; (c) equipment calibration; and (d) testing
procedures. The items discussed here and in the manual of practice supplement and clarify the current
AASHTO test methods. The test methods in themselves are not sufficient to ensure uniformity in testing
practice from one laboratory to the other.

Low-Temperature Fracture Testing of


Asphalt Binders
Regular and Modifed Systems
Todd R. Hoare and Simon A. M. Hesp
Department of Chemistry, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada.

FULL
TEXT

The results of low-temperature fracture testing of a large number of both regular and modified asphalt
binders are discussed. Two Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) binders (Materials Reference
Library Codes AAG-2 and AAN) were evaluated with 5 percent by weight of a variety of commonly
used polymer modifiers. Specimens of three different sizes were tested in a three-point bend
configuration, both with and without a notch. The original SHRP effort was aware of the need for a
rigorous fracture mechanicstype binder test, but because of a lack of time and resources, only the
bending beam rheometer and the direct tension test were ultimately developed. Some of the differences
between failure strain and fracture toughness measurements are discussed, as well as how these
differences may relate to pavement performance. The results of this study demonstrate that there is
a large range of notch sensitivities and fracture energies for different polymer-modified binders,
suggesting that the ductile-to-brittle transition (as measured with the direct tension test) may not be a
totally reliable performance indicator. Fracture energy may be a better choice, since it combines the
notched strength with a stiffness to yield a true material property that is independent of sample size
and configuration.

Evaluation of Moisture Susceptibility of


Asphalt Mixtures
Conventional and New Methods
N. Paul Khosla, Brian G. Birdsall, and Sachiyo Kawaguchi
North Carolina State University, Box 7908, Raleigh, NC 27695-7908.

FULL
TEXT

Evaluation of a mixtures moisture sensitivity is currently the final step in the Superpave volumetric
process. This step is accomplished by using AASHTO T-283, which tolerates a range of values in the test
variables of sample air voids and degree of saturation. The tensile strength ratios determined for the
mixes in this study varied with the air void level and degree of saturation. Although the levels of
conditioning were within the specifications for AASHTO T-283, test results both passed and failed the
80 percent criterion, depending on the severity of conditioning. An alternative to measuring indirect
tensile strength is a test that evaluates a mixtures fundamental material properties. A relatively simple
test is proposed that measures the cohesion and friction angle for asphalt mixtures. In addition, the
Superpave shear tester (SST) was incorporated as a tool in evaluating moisture sensitivity. The
proposed axial test determined the cohesion and angle of friction of the mix. The friction angle
remained constant for the conditioned and unconditioned samples. Hence, conditioning of the samples
had practically no effect on the mixtures internal friction. The cohesion of the mix decreased when the
mix was subjected to conditioning. The reduction in cohesion was greater in the case of the Fountain
aggregate, which is known to be highly moisture susceptible. The shear tests to failure performed on the
SST confirmed the results of the new apparatus, which provides a simple method for determining a
mixtures cohesion. The loss of cohesion due to conditioning can be used to determine a mixtures
moisture susceptibility. The three antistrip additives used in this study were hydrated lime, a liquid
amine, and a liquid phosphate ester.

New Class of Reactive Polymer


Modifiers for Asphalt
Mitigation of Moisture Damage
Glen A. Crossley and Simon A. M. Hesp
Department of Chemistry, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada. Current affiliation for G.A. Crossley:
E-Ink Corporation, 45 Spinelli Place, Cambridge, MA 02138.

FULL
TEXT

A new class of reactive polymer modifiers designed to improve binder-aggregate adhesion in asphalt
concrete was evaluated. Using a controlled free radical polymerization process, polyisoprene was
prepared with short blocks of reactive amino- or silane-functional monomer at one end of the polymer
chain. The reactive polymers so synthesized were tested with a modified version of the Tunnicliff-Root
method (ASTM D4867) for measuring retained tensile strengths after water immersion moisture
conditioning at 60C for 24 h. It was found that the retained tensile strength of the unmodified samples
was 53 percent, and the retained tensile strength of the regular polyisoprene-modified control samples
was between 57 and 69 percent, depending on the polymer molecular weight and content. The best
retained tensile strengths of 86 and 90 percent, respectively, were obtained with samples modified with
3 and 5 percent by weight of the higher-molecular-weight silane-functional polyisoprene. The method
for obtaining the desired effect is flexible; lower-cost monomers, such as butadiene, and more common
polymerization methods, such as emulsion or anionic polymerization techniques, may be used equally
well to produce polymers with similar or better performance characteristics. An added benefit is that
the tested polymers imparted significant improvements in low-temperature performance measured
with the thermal stress restrained cooling test.

Field Validation of New Superpave


Low-Temperature Binder
Specification Procedure
Performance Data from Pennsylvania Test Sections
Raj Dongr, Mark G. Bouldin, and Dean A. Maurer
R. Dongr, Federal Highway Administration/Salut, 6300 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101. M. G. Bouldin, SUNOCO,
Ten Penn Plaza, Philadelphia, PA 19103. D. A. Maurer, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, 1118 State Street,
Harrisburg, PA 17120.

FULL
TEXT

A new specification procedure was proposed recently to determine the low-temperature performance
grade of asphalt binders. This new procedure uses bending beam rheometer (BBR) and direct tension
test (DTT) data at two temperatures to determine the low-temperature grade of an asphalt binder.
A study was conducted to validate this procedure by using asphalt binder retained samples from the
widely published test road in Pennsylvania. This road was constructed in 1976 in Elk County, and
performanceincluding low-temperature transverse cracking indexwas monitored over 6 years.
In this study, the retained binder samples from test sections T-1 to T-6 were tested with the BBR and
the new Superpave DTT. The data from these two tests were analyzed to obtain critical cracking
temperatures and low-temperature performance grades. Results indicate that the new procedure
correctly predicts the temperature at which cracking was observed in the field.

New Class of Reactive Polymer


Modifiers for Asphalt
Mitigation of Low-Temperature Damage
Glen A. Crossley and Simon A. M. Hesp
Department of Chemistry, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada. Current affiliation for G. A. Crossley:
E-Ink Corporation, 45 Spinelli Place, Cambridge, MA 02138.

FULL
TEXT

Results from the low-temperature performance evaluation of a new class of reactive polymer modifiers
designed to improve binder-aggregate adhesion in asphalt concrete are discussed. A living free radical
polymerization process was used to prepare polyisoprene (PI) with short blocks of reactive silanefunctional monomer at one end of the polymer chain. Performance was evaluated with the thermal
stress restrained specimen test at a cooling rate of 10C/h. The results obtained were compared with
those for unmodified and styrene-butadiene (SB)-modified mixes. When added at 3 and 6 percent by
weight of the binder, SB reduced the fracture temperature of the asphalt concrete by 6C and 9C,
respectively. Similar results were obtained with the reactive polymers. However, although all the
SB-modified samples failed in a catastrophic mode, none of the samples containing the silane-functional
PI did. It is hypothesized that these polymers toughened the asphalt to an extent that cracks were only
able to grow in a stable mode as opposed to an unstable mode or that localized yielding occurred. The
method for obtaining the desired toughening effect is flexible; lower-cost monomers, such as butadiene,
and more common polymerization methods, such as emulsion or anionic polymerization techniques,
could be used equally well to produce polymers with similar or better performance characteristics.
An added benefit is that the tested polymers were able to improve the stripping resistance of the mix
significantly.

Crack Pinning in Asphalt


Mastic and Concrete
Regular Fatigue Studies
Benjamin J. Smith and Simon A. M. Hesp
Department of Chemistry, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada.

FULL
TEXT

The effects of finely dispersed fillers on the fatigue performance of asphalt binders and asphalt concrete
mixes at relatively low temperatures are examined. A series of model binder systems containing glass
spheres with narrow particle size distributions were used to study the effect of filler particle size on the
fatigue performance of the asphalt mastic. Two mastic systems containing ground limestone fillers,
which possessed significantly different gradations, also were tested. Fatigue performance was evaluated
by applying a constant torsional strain to each specimen in a dynamic rheometer at 10C and 40 Hz.
Testing at various strain levels allowed the relationship between fatigue life and strain to be determined
for the different systems. The results indicate that as the particle size of the filler decreases, the fatigue
life of the asphalt mastic increases. This observation is a direct result of the mode of fatigue failure in
the asphalt mastics and is in agreement with Evanss theory on crack pinning for failure in filled brittle
solids. Constant stress asphalt concrete fatigue tests on both dense- and gap-graded systems prepared
with the two different ground limestone fillers show that the particle size does not significantly affect
the fatigue life of the mixes. These results also confirm that crack pinning is the major mechanism
responsible for improved fatigue performance.

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