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On the oxidative ageing mechanism and its effect on asphalt mixtures morphology

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Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of mixture morphologies and microstructures on oxidative ageing of asphalt mixtures. For this, an oxidative ageing mechanism based on a diffusion–reaction process was developed. Previously, most asphalt oxidative ageing modeling research focused on unidirectional diffusion of continuous oxygen flow through bitumen films, which is far from the actual boundary conditions in asphalt mixtures. For this reason in the current study, a finite element (FE) analysis has been conducted in which 3D mixture morphology was considered. Mixture morphology is the combination of mineral aggregate packing, porosity, air-void distribution and their interconnectivity. One dense and one open graded field asphalt mixture core were scanned with a computerized tomography X-ray scanner. In the analyses, the developed oxidative ageing model was implemented. The FE analysis showed that the effect of the air-void distribution, their interconnectivity and the mineral aggregate packing has a significant effect on the resulting age hardening of the overall mixture. Furthermore, from the microstructural investigation done in this research, strong indications were found that, depending on the bitumen and its conditioning, water soluble thin films are formed due to ageing. This means that ageing and moisture damage are strongly interlinked and this should thus be considered in the design of the asphaltic materials and the prediction of their long term performance.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket). Furthermore, the advice of Måns Collin regarding the micro-scale mechanism and the assistance of Alvaro Guarin and Ibrahim Onifade in the scanning of the asphalt mixture cores is kindly acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Highway and Railway Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 23, Room N233, 10044, Stockholm, Sweden

    Prabir Kumar Das

  2. Division of Highway and Railway Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 23, Room N238, 10044, Stockholm, Sweden

    Romain Balieu

  3. Division of Highway and Railway Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 23, Room K230, 10044, Stockholm, Sweden

    Niki Kringos

  4. Division of Highway and Railway Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 23, Room K225, 10044, Stockholm, Sweden

    Björn Birgisson

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  1. Prabir Kumar Das
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  2. Romain Balieu
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  3. Niki Kringos
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  4. Björn Birgisson
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Correspondence to Prabir Kumar Das.

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Das, P.K., Balieu, R., Kringos, N. et al. On the oxidative ageing mechanism and its effect on asphalt mixtures morphology. Mater Struct 48, 3113–3127 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-014-0385-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-014-0385-5

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