A Simulation Method for Life Cycling Aging of Asphalt Binders Under Temperature Cycling Effects

Laboratory simulation is an effective method to obtain asphalt at different aging stages, like short-term aging through the Rotated Thin Film Oven Test (RTFOT) and long-term aging through a Pressure Aging Vessel (PAV). However, these methods have certain limitations: RTFOT produces small amounts of asphalt and is hard to clean, and PAV is costly. This paper presents a simple and economical way to obtain a large amount of aged asphalt with a single device called the Temperature-Cycle Aging Oven Test (TCAOT). Some key experimental parameters were investigated, including experimental conditions such as whether only thermal aging or fusion ultraviolet (UV) aging is required, the test temperature, sample quantity, sample placement, and termination criteria, etc. The rheological properties of aged asphalt from the new method were compared with traditional asphalt. The results show that the complex shear modulus after thermal aging is similar to that with UV radiation. Due to the difficulties, 125 g of asphalt is advised. For short-term aging, TCAOT at 163 °C for 120 min is like RTFOT. For long-term aging, TCAOT at 95 °C for 72 h is like PAV. With more aging, TCAOT at 95 °C for 120 h is equal to 15 years of real asphalt pavement aging. Based on TCAOT's excellent test performance, transportation and road construction departments can consider adopting this method to improve operational efficiency and save costs to increase revenue.