Recovery and Laboratory Testing of Asphalt Emulsion Residue: Application of Simple Aging Test and 4-mm Dynamic Shear Rheometer Test

This study involves application of two new test methods to the recovery of asphalt emulsion residue, long-term oxidative aging of the residue, and mechanical testing of the unaged and aged residue to determine low- and intermediate-temperature rheological properties. The new methods are the simple aging test (SAT), which is a thin-film (300 μm) oxidative aging test, and a dynamic shear rheometry technique (commonly referred to as 4-mm DSR), which allows testing to −40°C and requires only 25 mg of material. Three polymer-modified emulsions are recovered by two methods: AASHTO PP 72-11 Method B and use of an SAT plate. Both methods use the same evaporative technique to recover the residue (6 h at 60°C in a forced draft oven). The rheological properties (m-value, G* sin d, and ductility) of the recovered emulsion residues by both methods are reported as well as the rheological properties of the aged emulsion using the SAT. The rheological properties of the unaged emulsion residues recovered are roughly equivalent. The proposed SAT recovery method and application of 4-mm DSR offer significant improvements over Method B and current DSR methodology. The recovery process is simpler with the SAT plate than with Method B, and the SAT plate has been designed so that it can be placed directly in a standard pressure aging vessel (PAV) for long-term aging, and the time required for standard PAV aging is reduced from 20 to 8 h. There is no extrapolation of intermediate-temperature DSR data to low temperature. The error from instrument compliance at low temperature is corrected in the 4-mm DSR procedure.