With the continuous development of road construction and maintenance, SBS(Styrene-butadiene-styrene)-modified asphalt is widely used. However, there is no mature method for restoring aged SBS-modified asphalt. This study proposes the use of SBR(polymerized styrene butadiene rubber) and bio-oil for the restoration of aged SBS. In this study, five kinds of recycled asphalt were prepared by adding 5% bio-oil, 10% bio-oil, 6% SBR, 6% SBR + 5% bio-oil, and 6% SBR + 10% bio-oil to long-term aged SBS-modified asphalt. Softening point, penetration, and rotational viscosity experiments were tested to evaluate the conventional properties. Rheological tests revealed the performance of asphalt. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and atomic force microscope (AFM) tests were tested to demonstrate the microscopic characteristics of asphalt. Conventional tests investigated that aged asphalt viscosity will increase. Bio-oil could well recycle the asphalt viscosity. SBR could also soften aged asphalt, but its modification effect is limited compared with bio-oil. Rheological tests presented that the SBR and bio-oil have little impact on the temperature sensitivity of SBS-modified asphalt. SBR and bio-oil could decrease the asphalt stiffness. However, SBR and bio-oil could ameliorate the anti-cracking behavior of aged asphalt. The microscopic tests exhibited that SBR and bio-oil could decrease the asphaltene and colloid. Meanwhile, bio-oil could supplement alcohols and ethers at wave number 1000 cm⁻¹–1270 cm⁻¹. Alcohols and ethers are hard to oxidize, something which has a beneficial role in the anti-aged of recycled asphalt.

An increasing amount of waste seashells in China has caused serious environmental pollution and resource waste. This paper aims to solve these problems by using waste seashells as modified materials to prepare high-performance modified asphalt. In this study, seashell powder (SP) and stratum corneum-exfoliated seashell powder (SCESP) were adopted to prepare 10%, 20% and 30% of seashell powder-modified asphalt (SPMA) and stratum corneum-exfoliated seashell powder-modified asphalt (SCESPMA) by the high-speed shear apparatus, respectively. The appearance and composition of two kinds of SPs were observed and determined by the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The types of functional groups, temperature frequency characteristics, low temperature performance and adhesion of SPMA were tested by the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), bending beam rheometer (BBR) and contact angle meter. The results show that the SP and SCESP are rough and porous, and their main component is CaCO₃, which is physically miscible to asphalt. When the loading frequency ranges from 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz, the complex shear modulus (G*) and phase angle (δ) of SPMA and SCESPMA increase and decrease, respectively. At the same load frequency, SCESPMA has a larger G* and a smaller δ than SPMA. At the same temperature, SCESPMA has a larger rutting factor (G*/sin δ) and better high-temperature deformation resistance than SPMA. SP and SCESP reduce the low-temperature cracking resistance of asphalt, of which SCESP has a more adverse effect on the low-temperature performance of asphalt than SP. When SP and SCESP are mixed with asphalt, the cohesion work (Waa), adhesion work (Was) and comprehensive evaluation parameters of water stability (ER1, ER2 and ER3) of asphalt are improved. It is shown that both SP and SCESP have good water damage resistance, of which SCESP has better water damage resistance than SP. These research results have important reference value for the application of waste biological materials in asphalt pavement.

Prolonged ultraviolet (UV) exposure accelerates aging and degradation, while conventional constant-intensity UV simulations do not reflect the variable nature of outdoor radiation. Aging duration and film thickness are both key factors affecting Rubber-Modified Asphalt (RMA), but how their combination influences RMA remains unclear. To address this limitation, this research employed accelerated aging experiments under variable-intensity UV radiation to investigate the performance and aging mechanism of RMA across different aging durations and asphalt film thicknesses. Rheological properties were analyzed through rheological tests, and the UV aging mechanisms of RMA were revealed using FTIR and SEM. The results revealed that crumb rubber improved RMA’s UV aging resistance, including high-temperature performance, fatigue life, and low-temperature cracking resistance. Aging effects were more influenced in RMA with thinner films under prolonged UV exposure. After nine cycles of ultraviolet aging, the rutting resistance, elastic recovery, fatigue life, and low-temperature cracking resistance of RMA with a 1 mm film thickness were 1.33, 1.11, 0.54, and 0.67 times, respectively, those of RMA with a 2 mm film thickness subjected to three UV aging cycles. RMA demonstrated comparable high-temperature performance and elastic recovery under UV aging conditions corresponding to a 1.5 mm film thickness aged for three cycles and a 2.0 mm film thickness aged for six cycles, as well as a 1.0 mm film thickness aged for six cycles and a 1.5 mm film thickness aged for nine cycles. FTIR showed that the increased activity of C=C and C-H under photo-oxidative aging caused a greater impact on the carbonyl groups than the sulfoxide groups. Under high-intensity UV radiation, RMA with thinner films exhibited greater rubber powder detachment, increased surface oxidation, and a substantial widening of cracks. The rubber powder absorbed UV radiation, enhancing the stability of RMA. The maximum crack width of the 1 mm NA was twice that of RMA. These provided insight into the microstructural pattern of cracking resistance degradation caused by aging. This research provides theoretical support for the optimization of the anti-aging performance of RMA.

Fatigue cracking is a common form of flexible pavement distress, which generally starts and spreads through bitumen. To address this issue, self-healing elastomer (SHE) modified bitumens were elaborated to assess whether these novel materials can overcome the neat asphalt (NA) fatigue performance and whether the current failure definition, failure criterion, and fatigue-restoration criteria can fit their performance. All bitumens were subjected to short-term and long-term aging. Linear amplitude sweep (LAS) test, LAS with rest period (LASH), and simplified viscoelastic-continuum-damage (S-VECD) model were utilized to appraise the behavior of the mentioned bitumens. The results showed that maximum stored pseudo-strain energy (PSE) and tau ($\tau$) × N (number of loading cycles) failure definitions exhibited high efficiency to accommodate the fatigue life of NA and SHE-modified bitumens. Both failure criteria identified that SHE-modified bitumen (containing 1% of SHE) showed the highest increment of fatigue performance (67.1%) concerning NA. The failure criterion based on total released PSE, in terms of the area under the released PSE curve, was the only failure concept with high efficiency (R² up to 0.999) to predict asphalt binder fatigue life. As well, the current framework to evaluate bitumen self-restoration failed to fully accommodate asphalt binder behavior, because bitumen with higher restoration could not exhibit greater fatigue performance. Consequently, a new procedure to assess this property including fatigue behavior was proposed, showing consistent results, and confirming that SHE-modified bitumen (containing 1% of SHE) exhibited the highest increment of fatigue performance (154.02%) after application of the rest period. Hence, the optimum SHE content in NA was 1%. Furthermore, it was found that a greater number of loading cycles to failure ($N_f$) did not ensure better fatigue performance and stored PSE influenced the bitumen fatigue behavior.

There are many types of asphalt anti-UV aging agents, and the differences in their UV resistance mechanisms result in varying degrees of UV aging resistance. This study utilized three types of anti-UV aging agents to modify asphalt. These include a UV reflector (TiO₂), a hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS, LS770), and a UV absorber (UV326). The contents were 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5%. When the dosages of TiO₂, LS770, and UV326 were 1.5%, the rutting factors of the modified asphalt at 64 °C increased by 61.18%, 43.54%, and 34.18%, respectively. As the dosage of LS770 and TiO₂ increased, the rutting factor of the modified asphalt was gradually enhanced. However, the rutting factor of UV326-modified asphalt did not gradually increase with an increasing dosage of UV326. The recommended content of TiO₂ and UV326 was 0.5%, at which the rutting factor aging index (RFAI) was approximately 75%. The recommended dosage of LS770 was 1%, at which the RFAI was only 35.23%. Compared to TiO₂ and UV326, LS770 exhibited superior UV aging resistance. FM test results indicated that the fluorescent substance did not produce agglomeration in the modified asphalt. TiO₂, LS770, and UV326 were well dispersed throughout the asphalt. The carbonyl and carboxyl aging indexes of UV-aged LS770-1% (LS770 dosage is 1%) were lower than those of UV-aged TiO₂-0.5% and UV-aged UV326-0.5%. The anti-UV agents effectively protected the asphalt’s structure, reducing surface degradation and preserving its integrity under prolonged UV exposure. The microscopic morphology of anti-UV aging agent-modified asphalt aligns closely with the conclusions drawn from rheological behavior results, indicating that LS770-1% provides excellent UV aging resistance.