Study on the Aging Resistance of Polyurethane Precursor Modified Bitumen and its Mechanism

Sustainability, vol. 13, pp. 9520

Abstract

As an environmentally friendly alternative for the production of high-performance modified asphalt by chemical reactions, a liquid-state polyurethane-precursor-based reactive modifier (PRM) was developed and employed in the asphalt modification. In contrast to the traditional solid bitumen modifier, for example, rubber and thermoplastic elastomers, the PRM as a liquid modifier has more significant advantages in reducing energy consumption and improving asphalt performance, which has attracted widespread attention. However, the aging resistance and its mechanism are not clear. In view of this, the aging performance of two PRM-modified bitumen (PRM-70 and PRM-90), under the short-term thermo-oxidative aging, long-term thermo-oxidative aging, and ultraviolet (UV) aging conditions, was investigated through chemical and mechanical methods. The results show that the PRM-90 is more susceptible to the thermos-oxidative aging and UV aging. The use of low-penetration-grade bitumen and ensuring an adequate reaction are beneficial to enhance the aging resistance of PRM-modified bitumen. The impact of aging on high-temperature performance of PRM-modified bitumen is great, followed by the low-temperature performance and the anti-fatigue performance. The mechanic-relevant rheological aging index (RAI) and fracture energy index (FEI) are recommended to evaluate aging properties for PRM-modified bitumen. This study not only provides support for further research on the relationship between the aging properties and mechanical performance of PRM-modified bitumen, but also provides a reference for conducting mechanism analysis.

Authors 8

1. Liang Zhang
   Affiliation as printed

   Heilongjiang Highway Construction Center, Harbin 150040, China

   Heilongjiang Highway Construction Center

2. Pengfei Li
   Affiliation as printed

   Highway Engineering Cost Station of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin 150008, China

3. Guanfeng Hu
   Affiliation as printed

   Heilongjiang Longjian Road bridge 5th Engineering Co., Ltd., Harbin 150077, China

4. Sufeng Zhang
   Affiliation as printed

   Heilongjiang Highway Construction Center, Harbin 150040, China

5. Bin Hong

   Harbin Institute of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China

6. Haopeng Wang

   Delft University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Section of Pavement Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, 2628CN Delft, The Netherlands

7. Dawei Wang Aachen Institute of Highway Engineering

   Harbin Institute of Technology · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Highway Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China

   Institute of Highway Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany; School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China

8. Markus Oeser Aachen Institute of Highway Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Highway Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany