Comparing Laboratory Pressure Aging Vessel Conditioning to Field Aging of Asphalt Binder within Compacted Mixtures
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 31, Issue 11
Abstract
Asphalt purchase specifications have used 20-h pressure aging vessel (PAV) protocols to simulate later age binder properties for decades. Industrywide changes have introduced complexities when simulating field aging of asphalt binders, and the severity of conditioning protocols is a common discussion topic. This paper evaluates five field aging configurations in which compacted asphalt mixtures were aged in the same location (Columbus, Mississippi) between 2011 and 2016. Experiments like this, in which 10 different asphalt mixtures are evaluated for aging in one geographic location over five calendar years, are uncommon in the literature. Overall, the five aging configurations were best simulated by 3–11 h of PAV conditioning per year with 20 PAV hours simulating less than 5 years of aging in all but one of the five configurations. Ultimately, changing purchase specification binder conditioning methods would shift binder properties across the market, but changing specified PAV conditioning times cannot decrease the aging variability as seen in this one experimental location over a 5-year period.
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Acknowledgments
The Mississippi Department of Transportation funded Project 106526, State Study 266, and State Study 270, all under principal investigator Isaac L. Howard, which, among other items helped support the lead author while a doctoral student at Mississippi State University. Test section construction was performed by APAC Mississippi supported by Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions and funded as part of Project 70015 by the Southeast Region Research Initiative (SERRI) through Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Individuals deserving special thanks are Alex Middleton, Griffin Sullivan, James Williams, Benjamin Thomas, Mike Bogue, and Dwayne Boyd. Special thanks to the staff of Paragon Technical Services, Inc. (specifically Scott Watson, Mike Hemsley, Sonia Serna, and Dwayne Johnson) for hosting binder testing. Multiple Mississippi State University students assisted this work in some way: Amanda Hufft, Carl Pittman, Ethan Whaley, Robert Moore, Brad Hansen, and Westin Graves. The Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions Student Support Initiative in Construction Materials funded some of these students while working.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 31 • Issue 11 • November 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 13, 2019
Accepted: May 29, 2019
Published online: Aug 27, 2019
Published in print: Nov 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Jan 27, 2020
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