Oxidation and photooxidation of asphalts

Oxidation of asphalt is a major cause of pavement failure owing to hardening of the asphalt binder with accompanying changes in viscosity, separation of components, embrittlement and loss of cohesion and adhesion of the asphalt in the mix. However oxidation of asphalt-aggregate mixes at high temperature is deliberately done to partly harden the mix prior to laydown; hardening then continues during cooling. Excessive hardening at this point is undesirable because of embrittlement and cracking. Slow oxidation of asphalt continues during the service life of the roadbed at a rate that appears to be partly determined by the void volume of the roadbed, as well as the properties of the asphalt and (possibly) the properties of the aggregate. The authors focused their efforts on understanding the mechanistic basis for slow oxidation of asphalt under service conditions in order to predict how rapidly an asphalt will oxidize, based on its composition, and to find better ways to inhibit the process under service conditions.