Effect of Rejuvenator Composition on the Rheological Properties and Microscopic Structure of Repeatedly Recycled Asphalt

Key Points

• The study aims to understand how rejuvenator composition and recycling frequency affect the properties of recycled asphalt.
• Investigated the impact of different rejuvenator compositions on asphalt properties.
• Assessed the rheological properties of repeatedly recycled asphalt.
• Utilized atomic force microscopy (AFM) to analyze microscopic structure changes.
• As the number of recycling increases, the viscoelastic behavior of asphalt changes from viscous to elastic.
• This elastic tendency is particularly pronounced in rejuvenators with higher saturation.
• AFM observations suggested phase separation between asphalt and the rejuvenator after multiple recycling processes.