Multi-scale analysis of ageing behaviour in bituminous materials

Abstract

Understanding aging across material scales is critical for predicting the long-term performance of bituminous materials. This study investigates the aging of binder, mastic, and asphalt mixture samples under various temperature, pressure, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and humidity. Chemical aging processes were analysed using attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), principal component analysis (PCA), and Euclidean distance. Normalisation, baseline correction, and advanced ATR correction were used to enhance the accuracy of FTIR results. Hydrated lime in mastics enhanced the resistance to oxidative aging, particularly under hygrothermal conditions. PCA identified key spectral regions for understanding aging processes of bituminous materials. Porous asphalt (PA) mixtures aged more than stone mastic asphalt under field-like conditions. PCA identified distinct aging clusters at low and high pressure. Euclidean distance analysis indicated that binder-level aging can approximate mastic and mixture aging under certain conditions. The findings confirm that FTIR indices are effective for multi-scale aging studies.