A novel method to characterise asphalt binder at high temperature

The current experimental method used in Europe to characterise asphalt binder at high temperature is based on the Ring & Ball softening point. However, for modified binders it was demonstrated that such a method is unable to correctly characterise the material. In the present work, an alternative solution to determine the high-temperature properties of asphalt binders using the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) is proposed: the Binder-Fast-Characterisation-Test (BTSV) (Bitumen-Typisierungs-Schnell-Verfahren, in German). Two parameters are identified for the rheological characterisation of asphalt binders: the temperature T-BTSV, which is related to the Ring & Ball softening point and is an indicator of the binder stiffness, and the phase angle delta(BTSV), which provides information on the degree of binder modification. These two key parameters are used to discriminate among the different asphalt binder domains in the high-temperature range.