Development of micro-rheometer for hot mix asphalt

At present, to measure the rheological properties of binder in pavement materials, the binder must first be removed by solvent extraction. When the binder contains volatiles, polymers or fillers, the extracted material is very different from the original binder. Consequently there is no way to reliably measure the actual properties of binder in either asphalt or chip seal. To overcome this difficulty a micro-rheometer is under development which should be capable of measuring the rheological properties of binder without extraction from a pavement sample. The prototype instrument combines elements of two earlier instruments developed at CSIRO Telecommunications and Industrial Physics, an Ultra-Micro-Indentation System and a MicroFourier rheometer. Because these instruments can operate on very small samples, the new instrument can, in principle, measure the rheological properties of the binder between solid particles in a pavement sample, thus obviating the necessity for extraction. This instrument is currently able to determine a transfer function for the binder material which is directly linked by a geometric term to the complex shear modulus; however, the precise method of calculating the geometric term is at present uncertain. The instrument is also capable of measuring the relaxation time of the binder in response to a step strain. This is related by a Fourier transform to the complex shear modulus and is in principle convertible into the same quantities via a similar undefined geometric term. To validate the performance of the new rheometer it has been used to measure the rheological properties of a neat bitumen and two polymer modified binders (PMBs). These results have been compared with results obtained with a traditional rotary viscometer. The instrument has also been used to measure the properties of the binder in two asphalt cores and in samples made by combining a binder of known viscosity with solid particles of known geometry. The results obtained so far have been very encouraging, suggesting that routine testing of undisturbed pavement samples may be easily achieved. The new rheometer has the potential for opening new horizons in the research of pavement materials and pavement design.

• Record URL:
  http://arrbknowledge.com
• Authors:
  • Swain, M V
  • Meydan, A
  • Field, J S
  • Pfister, B
  • Bell, T J
  • Anderssen, R S
• Conference:
  • AAPA International Flexible Pavements Conference, 10th, 1997, Perth, Western Australia
• Publication Date: 1997

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 14p (Paper 28)
• Serial:
  • Volume: 1

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Binders; Bituminous binders; Hot mix asphalt; Measuring instruments; Pavements; Prototypes; Rheology; Samples; Test procedures; Tests for suitability, service and quality
• ATRI Terms: Binder; Hot mix; Measuring equipment; Pavement testing; Polymer modified binder; Prototype; Rheology; Sample; Test method
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01436876
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• Files: ATRI
• Created Date: Aug 24 2012 8:09PM