Effect of Processed Oil on Asphalt Binder Properties

This study investigates the effectiveness of processed oil in the modification of PG 64-22 and PG 76-22 by assessing their physical and rheological properties, and multiple comparison was conducted between the two binders. The base binders PG 64-22 and PG 76-22 were blended with processed oil at four different percentages of contents (3%, 6%, 9% and 12% by the weight of the binder) and compared with the control binder in each test. The base and modified binders were artificially short-term and long-term aged using a rolling thin film oven (RTFO) and pressure aging vessel (PAV) procedures. Superpave binder tests were performed on the modified binders by applying a rotational viscometer (RV), dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), and bending beam rheometer (BBR). The comparisons and results presented in this study indicate that (1) the processed oil has a significant effect on the binders' viscosity, which changes with respect to the increment of processed oil content. The viscosity of both modified binders decreased with the addition of 3, 6, 9 and 12% processed oil; (2) the performed DSR test showed that the addition of processed oil had a negative effect on the rutting resistance for both binders, since in PG 64-22, G*/Sin values decreased by 55, 65, 75 and 83% with the addition of 3, 6, 9 and 12% processed oil, respectively, while a decrement of G*/Sin of 24, 45, 58 and 65% with the addition of 3, 6, 9 and 12% processed oil was observed in PG 76-22; meanwhile, the fatigue cracking performance was improved and was found to be effective, while G* Sin in PG76-22 decreased by 9, 30, 36, and 52% and in PG 64-22 by 27, 44, 53, and 67% with the addition of 3, 6, 9 and 12% processed oil; (3) the results from the BBR test indicate significant improvement in the thermal cracking properties of the binders. The addition of 3, 6, 9 and 12% processed oil resulted in a decrease in the stiffness of both the PG 64-22 and PG 76-22 binders, with a positive effect consequently being observed on the m-values of the binders.