Experimental Study of Binder–Filler Interaction Using the Modified Multiple Stress–Strain Creep Recovery Test

The accumulation of strains within asphalt pavement layers, produced by repeated passing of wheel loads, leads to rutting. Asphalt mixture behavior is significantly governed by the properties of the bitumen used. Due to the increasing demand for better performance, current studies have tended to focus on developing rheological binder tests that can be used to accurately predict asphalt performance, particularly for modified binders. This essentially requires taking the interactions between components in an asphalt mixture into consideration. This chapter presents a new procedure to characterize the creep and recovery properties of pure bitumen and mastics using a modified multiple stress-strain creep recovery test. To understand the authentic mechanism of rutting resistance, two new factors comprising “time factor” and “normalized recovery” are introduced. The results indicate that creep and recovery are functions of filler concentration, stress level, strain level and temperature.