Bitumen ageing stands for a number of physico-chemical modifications that occur in bitumen as a response to environmental conditions. Several tests have been proposed to simulate bitumen ageing. Two of the most common ones are: a) the Rolling Thin Film Oven Test (RTFOT), which simulates short term ageing; b) the Pressure Ageing Vessel (PAV) test, which accounts for long-term ageing and it is usually performed on the RTFOT residue. A study of the physico-chemical modifications of a 50/70 pavement grade bitumen caused by ageing is presented. Both RTFOT and PAV tests were used. A follow-up of bitumen modifications due to ageing was done by several methods. In particular: 1) Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), to follow bitumen oxidation by the increase of oxygenated functional groups, which were quantified by taking appropriate structural indices; 2) Iatroscan thin layer chromatography (TLC), to follow bitumen composition expressed by the generic SARA fractions (saturates, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes); 3) Gel permeation chromatography (GPC), under “ultra-fast” conditions, to follow the colloidal structure of bitumen; and 4) Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), to evaluate the changes of the crystallized fractions (%FC) and the glass relaxation temperature (Tg). The results show that the PAV test causes more severe changes in bitumen than the RTFOT test. In particular, the evolution of the oxidation processes could be quantified by taking carbonyl and sulfoxide structural indices. Ageing also modified the SARA profile, namely, the relative contribution of aromatics, resins and asphaltenes fractions. On the other hand, DSC data remained almost unaffected after ageing tests, which may be indicative of the survival of most of the phases of the bitumen after these tests. Finally, a comparative analysis of the sensitivity and performance of all these methods is presented.

Despite asphalt self-healing with encapsulated rejuvenators having been intensively researched over the last decade, there is still uncertainty about the performance advantages granted by this technology. As a way of adding to the existing set of research methodologies, this study aimed to test the feasibility of a visual method to investigate the working mechanism of encapsulated rejuvenators in the bituminous mixture. For this purpose, clear bituminous mixtures were produced using a colorless synthetic binder and a pigment was added to the rejuvenator incorporated in the calcium alginate capsules. The internal structure of the bituminous mixtures containing these capsules was inspected both on loaded and unloaded specimens. The colored rejuvenator was also directly added to cracked specimens and its distribution was studied, along with the interaction between the rejuvenator and the synthetic binder. The results show that the rejuvenator could modify the binder to a limited extent, and the bituminous mixtures containing capsules showed evidence of rejuvenator release. It is demonstrated that the aggregate gradation of mixtures has a significant effect on capsule damage and rejuvenator release. However, the pigment can be filtrated from the rejuvenator by the capsule polymer structure and the asphalt. Even though the methodology presented some constraints, it has been proven to be capable of achieving the initial goal, while also acting as an important first step in the visual study of rejuvenator release in asphalt.

Bitumen is the most common binder used in the production of bituminous mixtures for road paving, having a fundamental influence on the performance of the pavement. However, it is not yet fully understood which bitumen properties have a significant influence on the behaviour of bituminous mixtures. In this context, the FunDBitS project was developed. Its main objective was to prepare recommendations on the properties of the bitumen to be specified in order to obtain suitable bituminous mixtures, namely in what concerns to its resistance to permanent deformation (rutting), stiffness, low temperature cracking, fatigue cracking and binder/aggregate interaction. In this framework, the research studies that have become internationally available since the BiTVal project were reviewed in order to assess performance-based bitumen characteristics, which may be introduced into bitumen specification standards. This paper specifically presents the main conclusions regarding the properties of bitumen related to the behaviour to permanent deformation of bituminous mixtures. It was concluded that the most promising test is the "non-recoverable creep compliance" (J_nr) from the Multiple Stress Creep and Recovery (MSCR) test method, although Zero/Low Shear Viscosity (ZSV/LSV) by creep or oscillation test method can also give good correlations with permanent deformation of bituminous mixtures.