Dynamic Shear Rheomoter (DSR)

Asphalt binder behavior is impacted by many things; two that have a significant
impact are loading time and temperature. The use of DSRs allows for both time
and temperature to be evaluated in a consistent manner. Although the equipment
is complex and expensive, the concept of the test is straightforward. Diagram 3.5
shows the concept of the operation.

The oscillating plate applies a series of stress and strains to the asphalt, which is
sandwiched between the two plates. This creates the stress-strain curve for each
cycle that is listed below. The test is run at 10 radians per second which is about
1.59 Hz (cycles per second) with a shear strain (strain amplitude) of
approximately 10 to 12% for original (unaged) binders and for RTFO (Rolling
Thin Film Oven) aged binders. The DSR is run in the controlled stress mode; this
means the DSR maintains a maximum specimen stress or fixed level of torque.

The DSR is used to characterize viscous and elastic behavior by

measuring:

G* (Called G-star), which is the complex shear modulus of the AC. This is the total
resistance of a material to deformation when exposed to repeated pulses of shear
stress. It is an evaluation of two elements: elastic (recoverable) and viscous (non-
recoverable) binder behavior.

(delta), which is the phase angle of the AC. It is an indicator of relative amounts of
elastic and viscous behavior.
AC is significantly impacted by temperature and frequency of loading. At high
temperatures, the binder acts like a viscous liquid with no capacity for recovery.
At very low temperatures, the asphalt cement will behave like an elastic solid,
which means it will recover or rebound completely. See diagram 3.6.

Understanding the data output of the DSR for asphalt binders is presented
in diagram 3.7.
The following are taken from the DSR to create the Superpave specifications for
permanent deformation and fatigue cracking. The parameters are defined
below:

Permanent Deformation is governed by limiting G*/sin at the test temperatures to

values greater than 1.0 kPa for original binder (unaged) and 2.20 kPa after RTFO
aging

Fatigue cracking is governed by limiting G* sin of PAV (Pressure Aging Vessel) to

values less than 5,000kPa at test temperatures