Exploring the deteriorative mechanisms in polymer-modified bitumen

Worldwide, polymer modification is the most popular enhancement for paving bitumen as it enjoys a number of benefits in its viscoelastic performance. Like bitumen, polymers degrade over time due to the environmental conditions to which they are exposed. These deteriorative mechanisms due to oxygen, UV radiation and humidity are the reason for different distresses of polymer-modified bitumen. Current literature has well addressed this coupled phenomenon of bitumen ageing and polymer degradation from a rheological performance perspective. Little research has focused on the fundamentals behind these deteriorative mechanisms. As such, this project is a game-changer, as it will explore this material from its basis, diving into the 'whys' for such resulting phenomenological behaviour. Beyond state-of-the-art spectroscopic, microscopic and thermoanalytical techniques will first investigate the balance between the two simultaneous phenomena of polymer and bitumen deterioration as well as the role of polymer type and conditioning factors. Next, the effect of the deteriorative mechanisms on the compatibility and stability of the polymer-modified bitumen will be explored. In the last stage, the fundamental input from chemistry will be introduced via multivariate statistics in a predictive scheme for rheological performance, which will be validated in the lab. All in all, this work will propose a complete deterioration scheme for the optimum future design of polymer-modified bitumen.

Keywords:BITUMEN, AGEING, ASPHALT

Disciplines:Construction materials, Construction materials technology, Structural engineering, Functionalisation of materials, Materials science and engineering not elsewhere classified