[Abstract] SBS modified asphalt was widely applied for decades, however, the ideal short-term aging simulation method for SBSMA was still inconclusive. The conventional Rolling Thin Film Oven Test (RTFOT) was found to be inadequate for SBSMA due to SBSMA’s high viscosity. Meanwhile, high SBS content SBSMA (with an SBS content of 6~9 %) is gaining popularity in China as an efficient binder for porosity pavement. As a result of the
even higher viscosity, the application of RTFOT regarding high SBS content SBSMA might be more problematic. To investigate the short-term aging of conventional and high SBS content SBSMA binders, an innovative thin-film aging was proposed and the binder’s chemical and rheological evolutions during aging were monitored using FTIR and DSR tests. Two SBSMA binders (with SBS contents of 4.5% and 7.5%, coded as SBS45 and SBS75) and their corresponding field-recovered binders were examined. Test results indicated that thin-film aging was not affected by the varying viscosities and provided SBS45 and SBS75 with a similar aging severity. For SBS45, this severity was more serious than the field aging but for SBS75, it was similar tothe field aging. And this was ascribed to the higher compaction temperature of SBS75. Moreover, a similar logarithmic correlation between carbonyl growth and SBS polymer health level were observed for both SBS45 and SBS75, suggesting that high SBS content SBSMA may be more vulnerable to aging.
