Rheological properties and phase behaviour degradation of asphalt mastics under cyclic temperature variations

ABSTRACT

Asphalt pavements are continuously subjected to cyclic temperature variations induced by varying day–night and seasonal temperatures. However, the effect of thermal cycling on asphalt materials has not been thoroughly documented. This study conducted accelerated thermal cycling tests on asphalt mastics to simulate the environmental temperature variation. The evolution of the rheological properties and phase behaviors under cyclic temperature variations was clarified. The temperature factors sensitive to damage were identified by establishing the quantitative relationship between the cyclic temperature parameters and these properties. Results demonstrated that, as the expansion of cyclic temperature ranges, the three asphalt mastics gradually lost their viscosity properties and became increasingly elastic. Thermal cycling increased the stiffness and high temperature deformation resistance of the three asphalt mastics, but significantly reduced their stress relaxation capability. The phase structures were degraded upon thermal cycling, weakening the asphalt-aggregate interaction. The temperature difference and cyclic high temperature were the primary factors affecting the rheological performance of the asphalt mastics. SBS modified asphalt mastic displayed remarkable resistance to thermal cycling, demonstrating its potential for application in regions with frequent temperature fluctuations. This research can help us understand the evolution of asphalt pavement performance in areas with frequent temperature changes at a macro-level.

KEYWORDS:

• Asphalt mastic
• cyclic temperature variations
• rheological properties
• relaxation modulus master curve
• phase behaviour

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the anonymous reviewers for their comments that have notably helped us improve the manuscript.

Credit authorship contribution statement

Meng Wang: Investigation, Writing-original draft. He Zhan: Formal analysis, Writing-original draft, Methodology. Huining Xu: Supervision, Writing-review & editing, Funding acquisition. Yiqiu Tan: Methodology, Conceptualisation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Key R&D Program of China: [Grant Number 2022YFB2602600]; National Natural Science Foundation of China: [Grant Number 52278449].