Evaluation for Warm-Mix Additive-Modified Asphalt Binders Using Spectroscopy Techniques

The recent increased interest in “fingerprinting” or identifying commonly used construction materials such as asphalt binders is expected to continue in years to come. To capture the basic fingerprint of asphalt binders, spectroscopy devices can be handy and useful. In particular, this study evaluated the effects of two warm-mix asphalt (WMA) additives, Sasobit and aspha-min, on the chemical compositions of a performance grade binder (PG 64-22). Spectroscopy techniques including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS) were used in this study. Mass precipitated asphaltenes and maltenes and straight-run asphalt binder samples were analyzed using these techniques, and test results were compared with the rheological data. The effectiveness of an antistripping agent (ASA), AD-here HP Plus, on a WMA-modified binder was also evaluated. Furthermore, the effects of aging on chemical compositions of the ASA-modified binder were evaluated. Spectroscopy analysis data from this study were in agreement with high-temperature performance data of the tested binders. The findings of this study are expected to help in fingerprinting WMA mixes.