1

PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE ACCELERATED AGEING OF MODIFIED AND

UNMODIFIED BITUMINOUS BINDERS USING THE PRESSURE AGEING VESSEL


W. G. Ford
Transport Research Laboratory, United Kingdom

H. R. Smith
Transport Research Laboratory, United Kingdom

R. C. Asis
Bureau of Research and Standards, DPWH, Philippines

A. S. Idabaga
Ministry of Works, Tanzania

B. St. Cyr
Ministry of Communications, Works and Transport, St. Lucia


W.G. Ford is a Highway Engineering Researcher in the International Division of TRL. He
is the Principal Researcher in a project that is investigating the effect of different polymers
in increasing the durability of both asphaltic concrete surfacings and surface dressings. He
has considerable experience in the design and construction of surface dressings and has
supervised the construction of two major road trials in Malaysia

H.R. Smith MPhil (Eng) FIHT is a Project Manager in the International Division of TRL
with specific responsibilities for the development of specifications for bituminous road
surfacings for countries with tropical and sub-tropical climates. He has over 30 years of
experience in road pavement research in developing countries and has played a pivotal
role in research programmes that have established the fundamental causes of failure of
bituminous materials in severe climates. He was awarded a MPhil by the University of
Birmingham for a thesis based on his research.

R.C. Asis is the Director of the Bureau of Research and Standards of the Department of
Public Works and Highways in the Philippines. The Bureau was formed in 1987 to ensure
the safety of all infrastructure facilities and secure the highest efficiency and the most
appropriate quality in construction by continuously developing its technology. Director Asis
leads the Bureau in its dual role of introducing new technologies and implementing them to
the required standards.

A.S. Idabaga B. Eng. is an Executive Engineer working for the Central Materials
Laboratory of the Ministry of Works, Tanzania. His responsibilities include the supervision
of quality control, investigation and research for road construction materials and also
geotechnical investigation for infrastructure and road construction materials.

B.St. Cyr has worked on road construction projects in St Lucia and has had experience in
the testing and assessment of a wide range of road building materials including soils,
asphaltic concrete and bitumen. He is currently in charge of the Materials Testing
Laboratory in St Lucia and is responsible for ensuring the quality of testing for on-going
construction projects.
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ABSTRACT

The Transport Research Laboratory in collaboration with road authorities in a number of
developing countries is currently developing recommendations for the use of bitumen
modifiers in both hot mixed asphalt (HMA) and surface dressings. This project forms part
of an extensive programme of research, funded by the Department for International
Development (DFID), which has the final objective of producing a guide to design and
construction of bituminous surfacings in tropical climates. A specific aim, is to identify
modified and unmodified bitumens which may have improved resistance to
environmentally induced degradation.

The effect of natural weathering on a range of modified and unmodified bitumens has been
assessed in trials constructed in four tropical countries. The change in viscosity of
bitumens used in these trials has been monitored over a two year period, to establish rates
of hardening.

Ever increasing numbers of bitumen modifiers are being introduced and it would be
advantageous to have an accelerated laboratory technique for testing the effect of ageing
on new products without the need for laborious field-testing. To do this a Pressure Ageing
Vessel (PAV), as used during the Strategic Highway Research Programme (SHRP, 1996),
has been used to simulate long-term weathering using the standard and two extended
ageing procedures. Early results indicate that, under controlled laboratory conditions, the
PAV can be used to estimate the rate of ageing of bitumens used for surface dressing.

1. Introduction

The objective of this DFID funded project is to develop recommendations for the selection
of bitumen modifiers which inhibit premature age-hardening and cracking in surface
dressings and top-down cracking in HMA. This latter type of cracking is very common in
countries with tropical or temperate climates (Rolt et al., 1986), (TRL, 1993) and leads to a
need for early and unplanned maintenance. The need for such maintenance imposes
severe financial difficulties for many developing countries and failure to implement such
work often results in premature failure of the road itself and consequent increases in road
user costs. It is very important that optimum durability is obtained for all bituminous
surfacings if maintenance and user costs are to be reduced. This paper describes the
early results obtained from trials to test the durability of surface dressing bitumens.

Seven bitumens have been tested to determine their penetration and viscosity
characteristics both before and after natural and artificial weathering. This has enabled a
laboratory testing procedure to be developed which simulates the rate of hardening of
bitumens in a road surface.

2. Field Trials

A number of surface dressings have been subject to natural weathering, with no trafficking,
at exposure sites constructed in three countries.

Two exposure sites were installed in Tanzania and one each in the Philippines and St.
Lucia. Each bitumen sample was prepared by spreading a film of the binder on a tile at
spread rates which are typical of normal surface dressings (TRL, 1982). Five imported
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bitumens were used at each of the four trial sites in addition to a locally available
penetration grade bitumen. Each trial comprised an equal numbers of tiles of the test
bitumens which were either left uncovered or covered by a single layer of chippings which
had been obtained in the UK or locally. Details of the trials are given in Table 1.

Table 1. Surface Dressing Trial Locations and Bitumens Used

Sample Type
Dar es
Salaam
Dodoma Philippines St. Lucia
Tanzania 80/100
penetration grade
Unmodified
Philippines 85/100
penetration grade
Unmodified
St. Lucia 60/70
penetration grade
Unmodified
UK 100
penetration grade
Unmodified
Hydrated lime-
bitumen
Modified
laboratory
blended

Thermoplastic
rubber modified
bitumen.
Modified,
proprietary,
laboratory
blended

Natural latex
rubber modified
bitumen
Modified,
proprietary,
laboratory
blended

Polymer modified
cut-back
Modified,
proprietary



The unmodified bitumens consisted of nominal 100 penetration grade bitumens obtained
in the United Kingdom, The Philippines and Tanzania. In St. Lucia only a 60/70 penetration
grade bitumen was available. The modified bitumens comprised proprietary binders
supplied by a manufacturer or were blended in the laboratory with 100 penetration grade
bitumen obtained in the UK.

Samples have been tested after intervals of natural weathering and the changes in
penetration and viscosity determined after 6, 12 and 20 months exposure.

3. Laboratory Ageing

Artificial weathering was achieved in the laboratory by using a PAV and Rolling Thin Film
Oven (RTFO) in accordance with SHRP procedures (SHRP, 1996).

Each test bitumen was pre-aged in the RTFO by placing 35 grams of binder in each glass
vessel and ageing the material for 85 minutes at a temperature of 163C. The bitumen was
then recombined and mixed before being subjected to ageing in the PAV. Pre-conditioning
in this manner removed virtually all solvent from the polymer modified cut-back bitumen.

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The bitumens were then placed in the PAV for 20 hours at 105C at a maintained pressure
of 2.1 Mpa. In addition, two further extended tests of 40 and 100 hours were carried out.

4. Determination of Bitumen Characteristics

Unaged and aged field and laboratory test samples were subjected to standard tests to
determine the rate of change in the properties of the bitumens.

Measurements of penetration were made at 25C and 35C and the viscosity was
measured at 105C, 135C and 160C in a Brookfield Viscometer. The Penetration
readings at the two temperatures enabled the calculation of Penetration Index (PI).
Normally the Softening Point (SP) is assumed to be the temperature, under standard test
conditions, at which the penetration of a bitumen is 800. However, this relationship may
not be reliable either for modified bitumens or after ageing has taken place. The equivalent
SP and PI have, therefore, been determined from measurements of penetration at two
temperatures.

4.1 Penetration Ageing Index

To compare the relative performance of the various bitumens, the Penetration Ageing
Index (PAI
25
) was calculated. It is defined as the ratio of the penetration after ageing,
measured at 25C, and the penetration before ageing.

Figure 1 shows the effect of increased time in the PAV on the PAI
25
of the test bitumens. It
is immediately apparent that the polymer modified cut-back bitumen has aged the least
and indeed is statistically significantly better than the other six bitumens. However, all
modified bitumens aged at a somewhat slower rate than the unmodified penetration
grades. The thermoplastic rubber and natural rubber latex modified bitumens recorded
similar ageing properties. The hydrated lime modified bitumen, was initially effective but,
after 100 hours PAV ageing, finally deteriorated to the same degree as the penetration
grade bitumens. The Tanzanian penetration grade bitumen aged at twice the rate of the
modified cut-back and the other two penetration grade bitumens aged at a similar rate.

Figure 2 shows the rate of natural ageing of the bitumens, covered with UK chippings, at
the exposure site in The Philippines. PAI
25
data plotted against exposure time, gave similar
forms of curves to those produced in the laboratory for PAV aged samples.

A comparison of Figures 1 and 2 shows, therefore that it is possible to predict the PAV
treatment time required to reach any particular stage of ageing in terms of PAI
25
, from the
trendline of each bitumen or group of bitumens. Penetration grade bitumens age to an
index of 0.25, (25 per cent of their original penetration) after approximately 34 hours of
PAV ageing. Bitumens modified by either synthetic or natural rubber would need 53 hours
and Hydrated lime modified bitumen, 44 hours of PAV ageing to reach the same PAI
25
.
The corresponding time required for polymer modified cut-back used in the study would be
73 hours.

A comparison between the rates of hardening under laboratory and field ageing conditions
to reach a fixed value of PAI
25
is shown in Table 2.



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Table 2. Comparison of Laboratory and Field Trial Results

Period
*
to reach PAI
25
of 0.25

Penetration Grade
Bitumens
Polymer Modified
Cut-back
Exposure Site
(Samples covered by
UK chippings)
PAV
(hrs)
Field Trial

(months)
PAV
(hrs)
Field Trial

(months)
Dar es Salaam 13 50
Dodoma 18 56
The Philippines 14 39
St. Lucia
34
19
73
28

* Derived and extrapolated from trendline equations.

Analysis of PAI
25
results after 20 months natural weathering at the exposure sites showed
that:

The bitumens not covered with chippings aged approximately three times faster than
the same bitumens covered with aggregate. The slower rate of ageing is the result of
the chippings protecting the bitumen from weathering effects including oxidation,
evaporation of volatile oils and ultra violet radiation.

There was no significant difference in the rate of hardening between those bitumens
covered with either UK or local chippings at any of the sites.

The polymer modified cut-back bitumen covered with either UK or local chippings, aged
at a significantly slower rate than the other binders at all sites. All other binders
hardened at approximately similar rates.

4.2 Softening Point

The changes in the calculated softening point, after 20 months weathering, showed that for
any given bitumen;

Samples without aggregate cover exhibited significant differences in softening
point between the three countries. However, there was no significant difference
between uncovered samples recovered from the two sites in Tanzania.

Samples having UK or local chipping cover exhibited no significant difference in
the change in softening point regardless of location.

5. Conclusions

This study has demonstrated a laboratory test method for estimating the resistance of
surface dressing bitumens to the hardening effect of natural weathering in a road. While
conditions in the laboratory are closely controlled, many variables will effect the ageing
properties of bitumens in road surfacings. However, the indications are that under PAV
artificial ageing most conventional penetration grade bitumens age at a faster rate than
modified bitumens in a given environment. The modified cut-back bitumen however
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showed a significantly higher resistance to weathering effects, both in the laboratory tests
and in the field trials.

Analysis of each of the indices used to measure ageing effects has confirmed the
important protective effect of closely spaced and good quality surface dressing chippings.
Their effect in reducing the rate of ageing has been clearly demonstrated.

Although the majority of modified bitumens did not show a high resistance to weathering it
must be remembered that they have important advantages over conventional penetration
grade binders. For example, those incorporating some form of rubber allow the use of
higher application rates, because they are less susceptible to bleeding, are more flexible
and give strong early adhesion with the chippings.

The identification of only one bitumen amongst those tested, which shows a significantly
greater resistance to ageing is rather disappointing but reflects how difficult is the
underlying problem. However, it is encouraging that predictive modelling of bitumen
performance in the field may be carried out under controlled laboratory conditions and that
the PAV may be used in the future to develop bitumens with improved resistance to
ageing.

6. Future Work

Recently the test bitumens have been incorporated into small-scale surface dressing trials
on heavily trafficked roads. Early results show that ageing trends are similar to those found
in the study described above. The changes in the hardness of the binders will continue to
be monitored together with assessments of the physical performance of the binders under
traffic.

7. Acknowledgements

The work described in this report was carried out under a cooperative research
programme between the Ministry of Works, Tanzania; Department of Public Works and
Highways, The Philippines; Ministry of Communications, Works and Transport, St. Lucia
and The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) of the United Kingdom.

The work described forms part of a programme of research, funded by the Department for
International Development (DFID), carried out by the Infrastructure and Transportation
Department, of TRLs International Division (Department Head T. Toole). Any views
expressed are not necessarily those of DFID; Ministry of Works, Tanzania; Department of
Public Works and Highways, The Philippines; Ministry of Communications, Works and
Transport, St. Lucia. The paper is published by permission of the Chief Executive of the
TRL.

8. References

Rolt, J.R., Smith, H.R., Jones, C.R. 1986. The design and performance of bituminous
overlays in tropical environments. Proc. 2
nd
Int. Conf. On Bearing Capacity of Roads and
Airfields. Plymouth , United Kingdom.

Strategic Highway Research Program (1996). Performance graded aphalt binder
specification and testing. Asphalt Institute Superpave Series No. 1 (SP-1), (1996).
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TRL, 1982. Overseas Road Note 3, A guide to surface dressing in tropical and sub-tropical
countries. Department of the Environment, Department of Transport, Overseas
Development Administration, Crowthorne, 1982. Transport and Road Research Laboratory
Overseas Unit.

TRL, 1993. Overseas Road Note 31. A guide to the structural design of bitumen-surfaced
roads in tropical and sub-tropical countries. , Department of Transport, Overseas
Development Administration, Crowthorne, 1993. Transport and Road Research Laboratory
Overseas Unit.

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Figure 1: Laboratory Ageing



Figure 2: Field Study Ageing

Laboratory Ageing Programme
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
PAV (hrs)
P
e
n
e
t
r
a
t
i
o
n

A
g
e
i
n
g

I
n
d
e
x

a
t

2
5

C
Tanzania Pen
Philippines Pen
UK Pen
Hydrated lime modified
Latex rubber modified
Thermoplastic rubber
modified
Polymer modified cut-back
Polymer modified cut-back
trendline
Philippines Pen. trendline
The Philippines (UK chippings)
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Exposure time (months)
P
e
n
e
t
r
a
t
i
o
n

a
g
e
i
n
g

i
n
d
e
x

a
t

2
5

C
Philippines Pen.
UK Pen.
Thermoplastic rubber modified
Polymer modified cut-back
Hydrated lime modified
Latex rubber modified
Polymer modified cut-back
Philippines Pen.