THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF ASPHALT CEMENT ON THE PHYSICAL AND RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES

Failure in asphalt mixture and distress in pavement are major issues to roads infrastructure. Selecting an appropriate chemical composition of asphalt cement is a key component in avoiding these issues. This work aimed to investigate the effect of the chemical composition of different polar fractions on the rheological and physical properties of asphalt cement. Four types of asphalt cement with penetration grades of 20/30, 40/50, 60/70 and 85/100 were divided into four fractions. Complex shear modules, rutting resistance and rotational viscosity of the asphalt cement were determined by using a Dynamic Shear Rheometer and a Rotation Viscometer, respectively. The results show that an increase in the asphaltene content and Gastel index resulted in an increase in the complex shear modulus, rutting resistance and rotation viscosity of the asphalt cement. The addition of more asphaltene content and Gastel index resulted in a decrease in penetration and ductility values. This observation also revealed that asphalt cement with higher asphaltene content had higher stiffness. The findings from this study can assist in the understanding of the behaviour of asphalt cements in its original state and improve the performance of asphalt cement for pavement applications.