Influence of Asphaltenes on the Rheological Properties of Blended Paving Asphalts

摘要

Some of the refineries in India produce asphalt by blending propane deas-phalting (PDA) pitch and heavy extract. This investigation reports the rheological and chemical characterization of various blends made with PDA pitch and heavy extract. The main objective is to develop an understanding on the influence of asphaltene change on the changes in the rheological properties under all aged conditions. Three blend proportions were manufactured using three different crude sources, and all the blends were subjected to short- and long-term aging. All the blends were tested for steady shear, creep and recovery, and stress relaxation properties. A chemical composition analysis of all the blended asphalt samples was carried out under all three aging conditions. It was seen that the proportion of PDA pitch considerably controls the rheological properties and that the kinetics of short-term aging are completely different when compared to long-term aging for blended asphalt.