Influence of Climatic Conditions on Releasing Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Asphalt Concrete Pavements

摘要

In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is performed to predict the release of PAHs from the asphalt concrete (AC) pavements due to moisture and temperature. Asphalt binder molecular component Asphaltene phenol is simulated with Naphthalene and Fluoranthene PAHs under different moisture contents ranging from 1% to 5% and temperature of -18 °C to 38 °C. Releasing of PAHs from the Asphaltene phenol is comprehended from the total energy loss at different moisture content and temperature. The total energy loss is higher at 5% moister content in all the simulation cases, as the moisture content increases the energy loss increases. At 5% moisture and at -18°C temperature, Naphthalene showed approximately 90% energy loss, whereas Fluoranthene showed 88% total energy loss. The result indicates that PAH with lower molecular weight has higher potential of releasing from the asphalt pavement under climatic conditions.