Creep Compliance of Polymer-Modified Asphalt, Asphalt Mastic, and Hot-Mix Asphalt

Abstract

The possibility of using commercial rheometers for comprehensive testing of asphalt binders, asphalt mastics, and hot-mix asphalts (HMA) is explored. Samples of one polymer-modified asphalt, its mix with fine mineral filler (mastic), and one HMA prepared with the same modified asphalt as binders were tested in the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) and the bending beam rheometer (BBR). All tested materials can be characterized by their discrete relaxation and retardation spectra (under the condition of small deformations). DSR testing was performed in the plate–plate and the torsion bar geometry. From the obtained relaxation and retardation spectra, the shear compliance, J(t), was calculated and compared with the tensile creep compliance, D(t), measured in BBR (both creep and recovery experiments were run). A simple relationship between J(t) and D(t) was found for the asphalt binder and the asphalt mastic. In the case of HMA, the bulk compliance, B(t), contributes to D(t) at short and long times. Both the Boltzmann superposition principle and the time–temperature superposition principle hold very well for all tested materials at low temperatures. There are qualitative differences, in the rheological behavior, of the asphalt binder and asphalt mastic on one side and the HMA on the other. These differences can be seen in dynamic (DSR) as well as in transient (BBR) experiments.