Evaluation of the Ductility

Specifications for
Straight Asphalt Binder in
Louisiana

Mostafa Elseifi
Louisiana State University
1

Introduction
Louisiana Binder Specifications:
PG 64-22 is allowed on base course
Conventional SuperPave criteria are required
(RV, DSR, and BBR)
Ductility at 25oC (RTFO-residue): minimum
100cm

Ductility test is not required in

neighboring states (Texas, MS):
How does ductility complement current binder
specifications?

2/17/2009

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

Research Objectives
Establish the relationship between the
ductility and pavement performance.
Suggest possible modifications to
current binder specifications by
adopting a SuperPave test indicative of
mix performance for straight binders

2/17/2009

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

Asphalt Binders Tested

Nine straight binders classified as PG 64-22 were
obtained from two asphalt suppliers (labeled A to I).
Selected binders have contrasting levels of
ductility.
Experimental program:

Ductility for RTFO and PAV residues

DTT on PAV residues
Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) on all binders
Dynamic Mechanical Analysis and Differential
Scanning Calorimetry
Multiple Stress Creep Recovery Test
Indirect Tensile Strength on Asphalt Mixtures

2/17/2009

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

Asphalt Binders Tested

G*/sind (64oC)
Original kPa

G*/sind (64oC)
RTFO kPa

G*sind (25oC)
PAV kPa

BBR Stiffness
(MPa)

m-value

Brookfield
@135oC

1.74

4.66

2430

113

0.350

0.550

1.73

5.22

2120

87

0.355

0.560

1.67

4.31

2460

107

0.334

0.530

1.77

5.79

1793

127

0.332

0.530

1.55

4.60

2520

94

0.351

0.520

1.57

4.29

3000

108

0.333

0.530

2.09

4.81

4855

229

0.311

0.545

2.03

4.67

4550

218

0.313

0.563

1.89

3.90

4804

231

0.312

0.588

Binder ID

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Test Procedure - Ductility

COV
= 4%
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Test Procedure - DTT

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DTT Results

COV = 19%
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Test Procedure - MSCR

Apply a constant shear
stress for 1sec followed by
a rest period for 9sec
10 consecutive loading
cycles are applied at two
loads
Introduced to predict binder
rutting resistance at high
temperature
Conducted at 25oC on RTFO
residues

2/17/2009

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

MSCR Results
Three parameters are calculated:
Non-recoverable creep compliance (Jnr):
Jnr

nr
=

Percentage recovery (r)

110
r =
x100
1

Stress dependency
rdifference
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r100r3200
=
x100
r100

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

10

MSCR Test

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DTT vs. Ductility

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DTT vs. Ductility

An inverse correlation between binder
ductility and the measured failure strain
A binder that provides a high ductility
would be characterized by poor elongation
properties at low temperature

Two hypothesis:
Effect of aging
Effect of temperature

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Effect of Aging
High ductility binders may lose more light
components during the aging process

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Effect of Aging - GPC

GPC separates the components of
asphaltic materials based on their
differences in molecular weights
GPC determines the fractions of:
Polymer (high molecular weight),
Asphaltenes (medium molecular weight),
Maltenes (low molecular weight), and
Very light oils (very low molecular weight)

2/17/2009

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

15

Effect of Aging
Oth er
100.0

LMW

MMW

6.5

6.7

6.4

6.7

6.4

6.3

5.4

4.8

4.6

80.7

78.7

79.8

78.8

77.4

77.1

82.9

83.1

84.1

12.8

14.6

13.8

14.5

16.3

16.6

11.7

12.1

11.4

80.0

60.0

( )

M
o
l
e
c
u
l
a
r

%
40.0

F
r
a
c
t
i
o
n

20.0

0.0
Binder ID
Oth er

F
r
a
c
t
i
o
n

LMW

MMW

6.4

6.6

6.2

6.6

6.1

6.1

5.3

4.4

4.2

77.7

76.6

76.9

76.5

75.6

75.7

80.7

78.1

79.4

15.9

16.8

16.9

16.9

18.3

18.1

14.0

17.5

16.5

80.0

60.0

( )

M
o
l
e
c
u
l
a
r

100.0

%
40.0

20.0

0.0
Binder ID

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Effect of Temperature
Employed two test
methods on three binders:
20M

2000

Tg 0.2oC

Sample Breaking

E"

To characterize content of
crystallizable materials

E', E" (Pa)

15M

Dynamic mechanical
analysis (DMA):

10M

-20

E'
E"
Time
-16

-12

-8

-4

0
o

Temperature, C

To characterize the glass

transition temperature (Tg)
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LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

1000

E'

5M

17

Time (sec)

Differential Scanning
Calorimetry (DSC):

Effect of Temperature
Asphalt Binder

Glass Transition
Tg (C)

D original
D RTFO
D PAV

-4.5
-3.3
3.5

Crystallizable
Species
Below 25C (%)*
Not detected
Not detected
Not detected

Crystallizable
Species
Above 25C (%)*
0.18
0.41
0.37

G original
G RTFO
G PAV

-7.5^
0.2
7.4

0.48
0.41
0.86

0.12
0.33
Not detected

I original
I PAV

5.0
8.3

0.03
Not detected

0.12
0.10

Binders with high ductility (G and I) have a higher

glass transition temperature and greater content of
crystallizable materials
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Relationship between Molecular

Compositions and Binder Physical Properties
LMW vs. G*/sin (rutting
criterion)

LMW vs. BBR Stiffness

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Effect on Mix Performance

A limited number of HMA samples
were prepared with three binders
(B, F, and G).
Design for low-cost asphalt-treated
base:
25% sand
75% Marietta Limestone
3% binder

Samples were tested using indirecttensile strength test setup (aged

and unaged)
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Effect on Mix Performance

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Relationship between MSCR

and Binder Ductility

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Conclusions
An inverse correlation exists between
binder ductility at 25oC and the
measured failure strain at -12oC:
An increase in the binder content of LMW
results in an increase in its ductility at
intermediate temperature
An increase in the binder content of
crystallizable LMW results in crystallization
of these molecular fractions at low
temperature
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Conclusions
Using a binder with a high ductility results
in a mixture with greater indirect tensile
strength
A binder characterized with a high level of
ductility would exhibit poor performance in
the MSCR test
Current SuperPave specifications failed to
differentiate between these binders in
terms of performance
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Recommendations
The ductility test should be kept in the
state binders specifications as it
correlates well with mix performance at
intermediate temperature.

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Acknowledgements
This paper is based on the results of LTRC
08-2P.
The author would like to acknowledge:

Project Review Committee (PRC)

Zhongjie Doc Zhang
Louay Mohammad
Chris Abadie
Ionela Glover
Ioan Negulescu
William Daly
T. Naidoo and S. Bradley

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Thank You