Effects of Preheating on the Rheological Properties of Rejuvenated Asphalt Binder

Hot in-place recycling (HIR) is a process that reuses reclaimed asphalt materials to benefit the environment and conserve natural resources. HIR has not yet been widely applied in China because of technical drawbacks such as reclaimed materials’ fatigue properties and poor cracking resistance. Preheating is the first procedure in HIR and significantly affects the diffusion of rejuvenators within the aged asphalt and the remixing of virgin and aged mixtures. This study focuses on the effects of preheating on the rheological properties of rejuvenated asphalt binder using dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) testing. Three types of rejuvenators (Reju-A, Reju-B and Reju-C), three types of base asphalt binder (#50, #70, and #90), recovered asphalt from recycled asphalt pavement, and laboratory-aged asphalt were investigated to analyze the rheological properties under different heating conditions. The results show that (1) rejuvenators contain little in the way of viscous characteristics and have a viscosity-reducing effect on aged asphalt; (2) field-aged asphalt loses cohesion and gains rutting resistance during aging; and (3) preheating has a significant effect on diffusion of rejuvenators within aged asphalt as well as on rheological properties. In short, a good controlled preheating operation is critical to the quality of the asphalt rejuvenation process.