Analysis and application of relationships between low-temperature rheological performance parameters of asphalt binders

The paper explored the physical and statistical relationships between different low-temperature performance parameters of asphalt binders. First of all, a physical equation between the creep stiffness S(t) and creep rate m(t) at any time t was established through mathematical deduction, the geometric and physical meaning of the equation was explained, and then a method considering S and m-value (which are creep stiffness and creep rate at t=60 s, respectively) synthetically to choose binders with better low-temperature performances was put forward on the base of the equation. Secondly, based on the bending beam rheometer (BBR) test results of rubberized warm asphalt studied, the paper verified the physical relationship, and further showed how to select a type of asphalt binder according to the S and in-value. Besides, the statistical relationships between low-temperature performance parameters and other parameters were investigated, and the analysis results show that there exist a good linear correlation between m-value and relaxation time, m-value and dissipation energy ratio, relaxation time and dissipation energy ratio, dissipation energy and m/S, and the m/S and ratio of dissipated energy to the 0.5 power of storage energy, respectively. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.