Assessment of Multi-Laboratory Repeatability of Emulsion and Cutback Recovery Procedures Using Vacuum Oven

Abstract

Typical applications of asphalt emulsions and cutbacks are surface preservation treatments and as a bonding layer between pavement layers in a pavement structure during pavement construction. Cutback and emulsion residues are routinely evaluated for quality control purposes to ensure their performance. Current standard methods for residue recovery of materials are distillation-based methods which require large equipment footprint is less productive. A new method was developed by the authors in their earlier work which offers high throughout and requires less material as well as equipment. The method exhibited good repeatability between two laboratories. The present study advances the previous research by examining the robustness of this test method by performing a round robin testing of various grades of cutbacks and emulsions with six participating laboratories. The mass loss during the residue recovery and G*/sin δ obtained from the Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) testing of residue were used to examine repeatability. The results show very good repeatability between the participating laboratories which further demonstrate the potential use of this method for routine screening of asphalt emulsions and cutbacks.