Influence of Overheating Phenomenon on Bitumen and Asphalt Mixture Properties

In the course of manufacturing, transport and installation, road bitumens and asphalt mixtures can be exposed to the impact of elevated process temperatures exceeding 240 °C. This mainly applies to the mixtures used for road pavements and bridge deck insulation during adverse weather conditions. The heating process should not change the basic and rheological properties of binders and the asphalt mixtures that to a degree cause the degradation of asphalt pavement durability. The work involved analyzing the properties of non-modified bitumens and SBS polymer modified bitumens, heated at temperatures of 200 °C, 250 °C and 300 °C for 1 h. Next, the asphalt mixtures were heated in the same temperatures. Based on the developed Overheating Degradation Index (ODI) it was demonstrated that polymer-modified bitumens were characterized by higher overheating sensitivity A((ODI)) than non-modified bitumens, which was confirmed by mixture test results. Overheating limit temperatures T((ODI)) were determined, which in the case of polymer-modified bitumens are up to 20 °C lower than for non-modified bitumens. When the temperature increases above T((ODI)), loss of viscoelastic properties occurs in the material which causes, among other effects, a loss of resistance to fatigue cracking.