Aging Characteristics of Warm-Mix Asphalt Binders

Ambika Behl 1 and Satish Chandra, A.M.ASCE 2

Abstract: Warm-mix asphalt (WMA) has gained lot of interest among researchers and highway engineers in recent years because of the
environmental and financial benefits associated with lower production temperatures. However, there are some characteristics of warm-mix
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asphalt that have not been investigated in detail. Several studies have been conducted to analyze the performance of warm asphalt mixtures,
but there is a need to investigate the physical and rheological properties of warm-mix binders. This paper presents results of a study carried out
to investigate the aging characteristics of warm-mix asphalt binders. WMA binders prepared with three different warm-mix additives were
aged in a rolling thin-film oven (RTFO) at lower temperatures to simulate warm-mix asphalt aging while control binders were aged at 163°C
only. Short-term aged binders were then aged in a pressure-aging vessel (PAV) to simulate long-term aging. Several parameters like aging
index, G
=sin δ, G
sin δ, m-values, and stiffness of the aged binders were evaluated and results of warm-mix binders were compared with
hot-mix asphalt binders. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy tests were also carried out on these binders to quantify aging of the
binders with and without warm-mix asphalt additives. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002013. © 2017 American Society of Civil
Engineers.
Author keywords: Warm-mix asphalt; Aging index; Stiffness; Bending beam rheometer; Fatigue; Rutting.

Introduction effects of these interactions on the rheological properties of the as-

Warm-mix asphalt (WMA) was introduced in Europe in the 1990s
and in the United States in early 2004 (D’Angelo et al. 2008). Since
then, a variety of different technologies and processes have helped
to achieve mixing and compaction at temperatures that are typically
lower than those required to mix and compact hot-mix asphalt
(HMA) (Chowdhury and Button 2008). Many warm-mix additives
have been tested and tried and are commercially available in the
market. It is therefore necessary to formulate parameters that will
enable asphalt technologists to evaluate the performance of asphalt
binder blended with warm-mix additives. These parameters should
be sensitive to variations in aging conditions, test temperatures, and
additive content (Hamzah et al. 2012).
WMA has gained considerable importance from an environ-
mental point of view, because of the reduction in temperature of
about 30°C from what is actually required for production of normal
HMA, thus reducing the fuel cost (Behl et al. 2011). WMA has
many advantages over HMA. Notable among them are reduction
in energy consumption in asphalt mixture production, extended
construction season, allowance for hauling mix over longer distan-
ces before placing, and improved workability. Several ongoing and
past studies focus on comparing performance of HMA to a com-
parable WMA (Hurley and Prowell 2006) and also on the mech-
anisms by which WMA additives improve workability at reduced
temperatures (Hanz et al. 2010). Considering the different technol-
ogies currently available to produce WMA, investigation of inter-
actions between the WMA additives and asphalt binder and the
1
Scientist, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, Delhi-Mathura Rd.,
P.O. CRRI, New Delhi 110025, India (corresponding author). E-mail:
behl.ambika@gmail.com
2
Director, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, Delhi-Mathura Rd.,
P.O. CRRI, New Delhi 110025, India. E-mail: satisfce@gmail.com
Note. This manuscript was submitted on July 10, 2016; approved on
March 21, 2017; published online on June 9, 2017. Discussion period open
until November 9, 2017; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Materials in Civil
Engineering, © ASCE, ISSN 0899-1561.
phalt binder after short-term and long-term aging is necessary.
Aging of asphalt has a significant effect on its mechanical be-
havior. This aging is carried out at the mixing operation with ag-
gregates generally at 163°C in the case of pure mixtures or at higher
temperatures in the case of modification by polymers or industrial
waste. Important aging-related modes of failure are traffic and ther-
mally induced cracking and raveling that shorten the life span of
pavement (Gawel and Baqinska 2004; Lu and Isacsson 2002). In
aging of asphalt, two types of mechanisms are involved. The main
aging mechanism is an irreversible one that is characterized by
chemical changes of the binder, which in turn has an effect on the
rheological properties. The second mechanism is a reversible pro-
cess called physical hardening. Physical hardening is attributed to
molecular structuring (Lu and Isacsson 2002). Aging, which occurs
in asphalt during construction and the service life of a pavement,
affects the rheological properties of bitumen. Aging of asphalt usu-
ally results in hardening of the binder and embrittlement, both in
application and in service, which contributes greatly to the deterio-
ration of pavements (Mastrofini and Scarsella 2000).
Warm-mix asphalt has gained interest across the world because
of the environmental and financial benefits associated with lower
production temperatures. Several research studies have been con-
ducted in order to facilitate implementation of this technology. A
common theme throughout these studies is that binders used in
WMA are likely to have reduced stiffness and increased suscep-
tibility to permanent deformation because of the reduced temper-
atures associated with short-term aging (Arega et al. 2013). Most
of the studies also show that binders with WMA additives had sim-
ilar resistance to thermal cracking despite initial reduction in the
production temperature and concomitant oxidation. More impor-
tantly, research studies have also investigated and reported that
the reduced temperature for short-term aging appeared to have a
significant effect on the fatigue cracking resistance of binders and
mixtures. This effect is also reported to be dictated by the type of
WMA additive and binder (Johnston et al. 2006).
Banerjee et al. (2012) studied the effect of long-term aging on
the rheological properties of WMA binders. They indicated that the
Rediset WMA binder had the lowest shear modulus, followed by

© ASCE 04017155-1 J. Mater. Civ. Eng.

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2017, 29(10): 04017155

 the Evotherm, Cecabase, and Sasobit WMA binders. They con-
cluded that the reduced effect of aging on the rheology of WMA
binders will translate to better fracture resistance. Trujillo (2011)
studied the long-term aging of WMA binder. FTIR results show
higher oxidation levels for control than all WMA samples. Dynamic
shear rheometer (DSR) and bending beam rheometer (BBR) results
show that Sasobit tends to behave closely to the control, while
Cecabase, Evotherm, and Rediset exhibit lower stiffness than both
control and Sasobit. Kim et al. (2011) performed a study to inves-
tigate the properties of WMA binders containing long-term aged
binders. Aspha-min, Sasobit, and two performance grade (PG)-
64-22 binders were used in the study. The PG binders were first
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short-term and long-term aged by a rolling thin-film oven (RTFO)
and pressure-aging vessel (PAV) respectively. A DSR frequency test
was applied at 0.1–100 Hz at 25–80°C. The results showed that
Sasobit had a higher complex modulus than the aged control bind-
ers, which meant better elastic properties.
This paper presents the results of a study carried out to evaluate
the aging characteristics of six WMA binders and two control bind-
ers aged artificially in the laboratory using RTFO and PAV aging
methods.
Materials and Experimental Procedures
Two binders, VG-30 (viscosity grade, equivalent to PG-64-16)
and PMB-40 (polymer-modified binder), were used in the present
study. Both of these binders were obtained from a refinery. The
PMB40 binder contains 3.56% of styrene butadiene styrene (SBS)
polymer. Also, binders in India are still graded based on their vis-
cosities and the same is used in this research. Three commercially
available warm-mix additives, Sasobit, Rediset, and Evotherm, were
used for making warm-mix binders. These additives were used to
prepare six types of warm-mix binders. Each additive was mixed in
the required dose by weight of the bitumen with each asphalt binder.
Sasobit and Rediset were added in the dosage of 3% by weight of
bitumen while Evotherm was added at the dosage of 0.5% by weight
of bitumen. These doses were found to be optimum in another study
(Behl et al. 2015). To prepare a warm-mix binder, asphalt binder
was heated up to a temperature of 140–150°C and the required dose
of additive was added and mixed for 15 min with a high-shear
blender.
The binders were then aged in the RTFO as per AASHTO T240
(AASHTO 2013) to simulate short-term aging and in PAV as per
AASHTO R28 (AASHTO 2016) to simulate long-term aging.
Since warm-mix asphalt is produced at lower temperatures, RTFO
aging of warm-mix binders was conducted at lower temperature as
well as at 163°C, and control binders (VG-30 and PMB-40) were
aged at 163°C only. The lower temperatures for RTFO were selected
in accordance with the temperatures at which warm asphalt mixes
were prepared in another study (Behl 2016). Since WMA and
HMA are subjected to similar conditions in the field, PAV aging con-
ditions were not altered and were kept the same for both WMA and
HMA binders. Aging index and G
=sin δ were found for short term
aged binders. Long term aged binders were tested for stiffness,
m-value and G
sin δ. The bending beam rheometer (BBR) was used
to measure stiffness and m-value of the binders with and without
warm-mix additive. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy
was performed on the binders to quantify the difference in aging
indices of binders with and without the warm asphalt additives.
Results and Discussions
In this paper, G
=sin δ, aging index, G
sin δ, stiffness, and
m-values of VG-30 and PMB-40 binders with and without warm
© ASCE 04017155-2
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2017, 29(10): 04017155
Table 1. Identification of Different Formulations
Type of Binder
binder Type of additive identification (ID)
PMB 40 No additive (control) PP
PMB 40 Evotherm PE
PMB 40 Rediset PR
PMB 40 Sasobit PS
VG 30 No additive (control) VP
VG 30 Evotherm VE
VG 30 Rediset VR
VG 30 Sasobit VS
asphalt additives are compared to determine the aging characteris-
tics of warm-mix asphalt. The following section discusses the effect
of short-term and long-term aging on the properties of binders with
and without the addition of warm-mix additives. Control binders,
VG-30 and PMB-40, were RTFO aged at 163°C, whereas the VG-
30-based warm-mix binders were RTFO aged at 163°C as well as at
115°C. Similarly PMB-40-based warm-mix binders were RTFO
aged at 163°C and at 135°C. RTFO-aged binders were then PAV
aged at 100°C.
For ease of reporting results, the nomenclature as given in
Table 1 is used for warm-mix binder identification. The number
mentioned along with the ID code in Figs. 2–9 indicates the tem-
perature at which the binder was RTFO aged; e.g., VE 163 indi-
cates Evotherm-modified VG 30 binder aged at 163°C and VE 115
indicates RTFO aged at 115°C.
Aging Index
RTFO residues were tested for viscosity in a Brookfield viscometer
(Brookfield AMETEK, Middleborough, Massachusetts) at 135°C
at 20 rpm with spindle number 27. Unaged binders were also tested
for viscosity under the same conditions.
When the asphalt mixes are prepared, a binder is exposed to heat
and because of this exposure to high temperatures the binder under-
goes maximum hardening. As a result of this hardening, there is a
significant increase in the viscosity of the binder and the extent of
the hardening can be quantified in terms of viscosity as per Eq. (1)
(Roberts et al. 1996)
Viscosity of aged binder
Aging index ¼ ð1Þ
Viscosity of unaged binder
Tables 2 and 3 show the viscosity of the unaged binders and of
binders aged at 163°C and at lower temperatures. The aging indices
are also given in Tables 2 and 3.
It is observed that the aging indices of RTFO-aged binders
at lower temperatures were significantly lower than the control
RTFO-aged binders at 163°C. Tables 2 and 3 also show that warm
binders aged at 163°C also gave lower aging indices in comparison
to control binders aged at the same temperatures. These values
indicate that the addition of warm-mix additive to bituminous
binder makes the binder resistant to aging. To substantiate this fur-
ther, warm asphalt mixes were prepared in the laboratory along
with hot asphalt mixes. The VG-30 hot asphalt mixtures were pre-
pared at 150°C and VG-30-based warm mixtures were prepared at
115°C, whereas PMB-40 hot mixtures were prepared at 165°C and
PMB-40-based warm mixtures were prepared at 135°C. These
mixes were then compacted to Marshall specimens. Binders were
recovered from these mixes, and the recovered binders were tested
for their aging indices. Binders from mixes were extracted using a
J. Mater. Civ. Eng.
 Table 2. Viscosity of Aged and Unaged VG-30-Based Warm-Mix Binders
Viscosity (Pa·s) Aging index
Unaged binder Aged at 163°C Aged at 115°C
Average Standard Average Standard Average Standard
Binder value deviation value deviation value deviation 163°C 115°C
VP 620 26.4 1050 22.4 — — 1.69 —
VS 500 23.5 750 31.2 600 26.4 1.50 1.20
VE 675 22.9 980 26.8 875 30 1.45 1.30
VR 515 27.3 800 30 650 30.4 1.55 1.26
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Table 3. Viscosity of Aged and Unaged PMB-40-Based Warm-Mix Binders

Viscosity (Pa·s) Aging index
Unaged binder Aged at 163°C Aged at 135°C
Average Standard Average Standard Average Standard
Binder value deviation value deviation value deviation 163°C 135°C
PP 1402 27.5 2250 25.3 — — 1.60 —
PS 1050 26.4 1550 26.4 1350 26.4 1.48 1.29
PE 1075 31.2 1450 30 1225 25 1.35 1.14
PR 1150 30 1725 30.4 1400 27.8 1.50 1.24

1.94 25
2.00 VG 30 binders PMB 40 binders 19.9
1.53 20
1.45
G*/sinδ, KPa

1.50 1.35 1.26 1.22

Aging Index

15 12.3
1.09 1.07
8.79 9.2 8.96 8.89
1.00 10 7.17

5
0.50
0
0.00 VP 163 VE 163 VR 163 VS 163 VE 115 VR 115 VS 115
Control Sasobit Evotherm Rediset
Fig. 2. Effect of additives on rutting parameter of VG 30 binder
Fig. 1. Aging indices of binders recovered from mixes

25
21
rotovapor as per ASTM D2172 (ASTM 2011) and ASTM D5404
20 17.4
(ASTM 2012) and were then recovered using the Abson recovery
G*/sinδ, KPa

method. Fig. 1 shows the aging indices of the recovered binders. It 15

11.5 11.2 10.6 10.9 9.8
was observed that aging indices for binders recovered from warm 10
mixes were significantly lower than those of binders recovered
5
from conventional hot mixes. It suggests that warm-mix asphalt
prepared at lower temperatures will undergo reduced hardening 0
as compared to hot-mix asphalt. PP 163 PE 163 PR 163 PS 163 PE 135 PR 135 PS 135

Fig. 3. Effect of additives on rutting parameter of PMB 40 binder

Effect of Warm-Mix Additives on Rutting Parameter

Rutting behavior of a pavement is related to both binder properties

and aggregate properties. The G
=sin δ value is considered as a
numerical indicator of rutting resistance, while higher G
=sin δ val-
ues are favorable for permanent deformation resistance (Anderson
and Kennedy 1993; Airey 2004). Rutting parameters at 60°C for all
RTFO-aged binders were found using a dynamic shear rheometer
and results are presented in Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 2 shows the rutting
parameter value of VG-30-based warm-mix binders aged at 163
and 115°C, while Fig. 3 shows these values for PMB-40-based
warm-mix binders aged at 163 and 135°C.
It was observed that binders containing Sasobit had the highest
G
=sin δ value. The binders that were RTFO aged at lower temper-
atures showed lower values of G
=sin δ, in comparison to those
RTFO aged at 163°C. Rediset-modified binders showed a slight
reduction in G
=sin δ values, which indicates that the addition
of Rediset makes the binder susceptible to rutting. Evotherm-
based warm binders aged at 163°C and at a lower temperature
showed comparable values of G
=sin δ to that of the control binder
aged at 163°C. This shows that Evotherm warm mixes prepared and

© ASCE 04017155-3 J. Mater. Civ. Eng.

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2017, 29(10): 04017155

 compacted at lower temperatures will have comparable resistance
to rutting to that of the control hot mix. Sasobit-modified binders
show significantly higher values of G
=sin δ at both the aging tem-
peratures in comparison to control binders. This increase in rutting
resistance of binders containing Sasobit is attributed to the presence
of wax crystals in the binders, which cause an increase in the com-
plex modulus of the binders, and not to the increased aging of the
binders.
Sasobit-modified warm-mix binder becomes stiffer. However, it
should be considered that aged asphalts are more brittle and sus-
ceptible to fatigue cracking in cold weather. This is expected also
and is in harmony with the literature as stated by Gandhi (2008) that
some binders produced at lower mixing and compaction temper-
atures than usual show better fatigue cracking performance. Super-
pave mix design has a specification requirement for G
sin δ, to be
less than 5,000 kPa. All the warm-mix binders RTFO aged at
163°C, as well as at lower temperatures, satisfy this criterion.

Effect of Warm-Mix Additives on Fatigue Parameter

Effect of Warm-Mix Additives on Stiffness and
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In the situation of lack of flexibility, repeated traffic loads cause m-Value

fatigue (alligator) cracking, which is counted as an important de-
terioration mode for HMA pavements (Abo-Qudais and Shatnawi
2007). The G
sin δ value of long-term aged binder is considered a
numerical indicator of fatigue resistance. Lower G
sin δ values are
favorable for better fatigue performance (Anderson and Kennedy
1993; Airey 2004; Al-Khateeb et al. 2009).
The effect of the warm asphalt additives was studied on the
fatigue parameter (G
sin δ) of binders with and without additives.
PAV residues were tested to determine the G
sin δ values. The
fatigue parameter was calculated for all the binders at 25°C, and
results are presented in Figs. 4 and 5 for VG-30-based and PMB-
40-based binders respectively.
Control VG-30 and PMB-40 binders have higher G
sin δ val-
ues than the Evotherm and Rediset warm-mix binders. Evotherm
and Rediset warm-mix binders aged at 163°C, as well as at lower
temperatures in RTFO, showed lower values for the fatigue param-
eter, which indicates that these warm-mix binders will have better
fatigue cracking resistance. Sasobit-modified binders showed sig-
nificantly higher values of G
sin δ as compared to control binders.
This increase in G
sin δ may not be because of increased aging,
because the Sasobit-modified binders had lower aging indices.
Therefore this increase in G
sin δ values may be attributable to the
fact that at low temperature Sasobit is present in binder in the form
of solid wax and forms wax crystals within the binder. Hence the
3500
3050
The BBR test was conducted on PAV-aged samples to evaluate the
stiffness and m-value of the control and modified binders. The
minimum temperature of the pavements in very cold regions of
India is around −20°C, and hence BBR tests were conducted at this
temperature. Figs. 6 and 7 show stiffness values for VG-30 and
PMB-40 control and WMA binders respectively. Figs. 8 and 9
show m-values for VG-30 and PMB-40 binders, respectively.
In the case of VG-30 binder, Evotherm-based warm-mix binder
showed the lowest stiffness values for samples RTFO aged at 163°C,
as well as at 115°C, whereas Sasobit and Rediset warm-mix binders
showed higher stiffness values in comparison to the control VG-30
binder. Also, Sasobit- and Rediset-modified VG-30 binders had
lower m-values in comparison to the control VG-30 binder (Fig. 8).
In the case of PMB-40 binders, Sasobit-modified binders showed
higher stiffness values and lower m-values in comparison to the
control PMB-40 binder. A lower m-value indicates a lesser ability
to relax stresses. This shows that Sasobit and Rediset WMA bind-
ers will have more tendency toward cracking at low temperatures.
However the reason for the increase in stiffness of binders contain-
ing Sasobit and reduction in m-values is again attributable to wax
crystallization, which caused an increase in resistance to plastic
300 280 270
264 266
246
250
3140 210
192
Stiffness, MPa

3000 200
2500 2291
G*sinδ, KPa

2100 2009 150

2000 1820 1807
100
1500
1000 50
500
0
0 VP 163 VS 163 VE 163 VR 163 VS 115 VE 115 VR 115
VP 163 VE 163 VR 163 VS 163 VE 115 VR 115 VS 115
Fig. 6. Stiffness of VG 30 warm-mix binders
Fig. 4. Effect of the additives on fatigue parameter of VG 30 binder

300
3500 245
2930 250
3000 218 208
2570 205
Stiffness, Mpa

2500 2320 200 181 172

G*sinδ, KPa

2090 162
1900 1880
2000 1720 150
1500
100
1000
50
500
0 0
PP 163 PE 163 PR 163 PS 163 PE 135 PR 135 PS 135 PP 163 PS 163 PE 163 PR 163 PS 135 PE 135 PR 135

Fig. 5. Effect of the additives on fatigue parameter of PMB 40 binder Fig. 7. Stiffness of PMB 40 warm-mix binders

© ASCE 04017155-4 J. Mater. Civ. Eng.

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2017, 29(10): 04017155

 deformation in the binder (Edwards et al. 2005). For PMB-40 bind- aging was done at 115°C. This shows that when warm mixes
ers, the Rediset-modified WMA binders showed comparable stiff- are prepared with PMB-40 binders at lower temperatures, they will
ness values to control binders when short-term aging was done at have improved resistance to low temperature cracking.
163°C, but showed reduced stiffness and higher m-values when Further, Evotherm-modified warm-mix binders have a signifi-
cantly lower stiffness value than the control VG-30 binders and they
0.4 0.36 have significantly higher m-values when aged at 163°C, as well as
0.35 at lower temperatures, than the control binder. This indicates that
0.3 0.277 Evotherm warm-mix binders will have improved resistance to low
0.256 0.26
0.25 0.226 0.231 temperature cracking.
m-value

0.192
0.2
0.15
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
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0.1
0.05 The values of aging indices of various warm-mix and control
0 binders reported in this study indicated that warm-mix asphalt ex-
VP 163 VS 163 VE 163 VR 163 VS 115 VE 115 VR 115 periences less aging from exposure to lower temperatures in com-
parison to hot-mix asphalt. FTIR spectroscopy was used to quantify
Fig. 8. m-values for VG 30 warm-mix binders the aging in the binders with and without warm-mix additives.
FTIR for asphalt binders is used as an indicator of oxidation
0.35 (i.e., aging), as it allows identification of the formation of two
0.315
0.293 chemical entities resulting from oxidation: the carbonyl (C═O) and
0.3 0.271 0.267
0.243
0.262 0.258 sulfoxide (S═O) groups. The relative increase of C═O and S═O
0.25 functional groups reflects asphalt aging. Functional characteristics
m-value

0.2 were determined by measuring infrared absorption bands corre-

0.15
sponding to CO and SO functionality. They are represented re-
spectively by absorption bands around wave numbers 1,700 and
0.1
1,030 cm−1 . IR absorbance peaks at these wave numbers represent
0.05 the amount of carbonyl and sulfoxide bonds in the binders
0 respectively, which are the indication of aging in the binder
PP 163 PS 163 PE 163 PR 163 PS 135 PE 135 PR 135

Fig. 9. m-values for PMB 40 warm-mix binders 1030 cm-1

0.50 0.44
0.38
0.40
0.32
Absorbance

1700 cm-1 0.28 0.29

0.30 0.23 0.23 0.25
0.40
0.29 0.20
Absorbance

0.30 0.24
0.20 0.22 0.22
0.19 0.18 0.10
0.20 0.16

0.10 0.00
VP VE VR VS PP PE PR PS
0.00
VP VE VR VS PP PE PR PS (a)
(a) 1030 cm-1
0.50 0.47
1700 cm-1 0.40 0.40 0.38
0.40 0.34 0.34
Absorbance

0.50 0.32 0.33

0.42
0.30
0.40
Absorbance

0.34 0.33
0.29 0.29 0.30 0.20
0.30 0.22
0.21
0.10
0.20
0.10 0.00
VP VE VR VS PP PE PR PS
0.00
VP VE VR VS PP PE PR PS (b)
(b) 1030 cm-1
1.60 1.37
1700 cm-1 1.40 1.30
1.20 1.13 1.09
Absorbance

0.40 1.01
0.33 1.00 0.89 0.87
0.35 0.30 0.30
0.28 0.29 0.69
Absorbance

0.30 0.26 0.26 0.26 0.80

0.25 0.60
0.20 0.40
0.15 0.20
0.10 0.00
0.05
0.00 VP VE VR VS PP PE PR PS
VP VE VR VS PP PE PR PS (c)
(c)
Fig. 11. FTIR absorbance of the binders at 1,030 cm−1 : (a) RTFO-
Fig. 10. FTIR absorbance of the binders at 1,700 (a) RTFO re- cm−1 : aged binders; (b) PAV-aged binders; (c) recovered binders from the
sidue; (b) PAV aged; (c) recovered binders from the Marshall specimen Marshall specimen

© ASCE 04017155-5 J. Mater. Civ. Eng.

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2017, 29(10): 04017155

 (Edwards 2005). RTFO-aged binders, PAV-aged binders, and re-
covered binders from the mixes were tested for absorbance peaks.
Absorbances of the binders at 1,700 and 1,030 cm−1 are shown in
Figs. 10 and 11, respectively.
Fig. 10 shows a decrease in absorbance of warm-mix binders
at 1,700 cm−1 in all three cases, i.e., for RTFO-aged, PAV-aged,
and recovered binders. This indicates a reduction in the amount
of carbonyl bonds present in the warm-mix binders. Similarly,
Fig. 11 shows a reduction in absorbance of warm-mix binders at
1,030 cm−1 in all three cases, i.e., for RTFO-aged, PAV-aged, and
recovered binders, which indicates that warm-mix binders have a
lower amount of sulfoxide bonds present in comparison to control
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VG-30 and PMB-40 binders.
The results given previously indicate that warm-mix binders
have oxidized/aged less than the control VG-30 and PMB-40 bind-
ers, which is in accordance with the results obtained for aging
indices. This also confirms that higher values of G
=sin δ and
G
sin δ obtained for Sasobit-modified binders was not attributable
to increased aging but to wax crystallization.
Conclusions
The present study examines the aging characteristics of warm-mix
binders with three different additives. One important aspect that
differentiates this research from those given in the literature is the
comparison of properties of short-term-aged and long-term-aged
binders with those of aged binders recovered from asphalt mixes.
On the basis of results presented in this paper, the following con-
clusions can be made:
• Reduction in mixing and compaction temperatures for warm
asphalt binders significantly reduces the aging index of these
binders. Recovered binders from the warm asphalt mixtures
and hot asphalt mixtures also showed similar results. Recovered
binders with warm-mix additives indicated lower aging indices
than binders recovered from hot-mix asphalt.
• RTFO-aged Rediset-modified binders showed a slight reduction
in G
=sin δ values in comparison to aged control binders. It in-
dicates that the addition of Rediset additive to binder makes it
susceptible to rutting. Evotherm-based WMA RTFO-aged bin-
ders at 163°C, as well as at lower temperatures, showed com-
parable values of G
=sin δ to those of control binders RTFO
aged at 163°C. Sasobit-modified binders showed significantly
higher values of G
=sin δ.
• After long-term aging, the warm-mix binders with Evotherm
and Rediset additive showed better fatigue cracking resistance,
whereas Sasobit-modified warm-mix binders showed signifi-
cantly higher values of G
sin δ as compared to control binders.
• Evotherm warm-mix binders are expected to have improved
resistance to low temperature cracking because these binders
showed the lowest creep stiffness values for the samples RTFO
aged at 163°C, as well as at lower temperatures. These binders
also had significantly higher m-values, indicating better ability
to relax stresses than other warm-mix binders, including control
binders.
• Sasobit and Rediset warm-mix binders showed higher creep
stiffness values and lower m-values in comparison to the control
VG-30 binder. However PMB-40-based binders and Rediset
warm-mix binders showed reduced stiffness values and also
improved m-values when aged at lower mixing temperatures,
which indicates their improved resistance to low temperature
cracking. Sasobit-modified PMB-40 binders showed higher
stiffness values and lower m-values in comparison to control
PMB-40 binder.
© ASCE 04017155-6
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2017, 29(10): 04017155
• The FTIR analysis confirmed that the absorbance of warm-mix
binders was less compared to the control binders. It confirmed
that binders containing warm-mix additives age less compared
to the control binders.
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