SPECIFICS OF AGING OF OXIDIZED OIL BITUMEN PRODUCED IN UKRAINE

Abstract

Despite to the significant advantages of asphalt concrete coating in comparison with other types of coatings, such as high mechanical strength and roughness; low rigidity of the coating; high ability to absorb vibrations, etc., there are also significant disadvantages of asphalt concrete. Among the main ones is the short term of use, which manifests itself in the breaking and destruction of the roadway after several changes of seasons. The reason for this phenomenon is the complex effect of natural and mechanical factors, which finally lead to different types of chemical and structural changes in the binder of the asphalt, which also called aging of bitumen. The aging process of the binder begins long before the bitumen gets into the asphalt. Since the main part of the Ukrainian binders is obtained by the oxidation of tar, the conditions of the oxidation process play an important role for further transformation. In addition, there are internal irreversible reactions in bitumen, which occur under the influence of oxygen, heat, low temperatures and light. To evaluate the intensity of bitumen aging in the coating, we investigated the change of bitumen properties before and after warming, which allows simulate the thermal oxidation of bitumen - in a thin layer of binder (2 mm) at 163°C for 5 or 10 hours. As the simple we used Ukrainian bitumen of the BND 60/90. Thereafter, a comparison of baseline data and indexes, determined after the aging was performed to evaluate changes due to the aging of bitumen. are weight loss and softening temperature change, needle penetration (penetration), brittleness and elongation (ductility), determined by standard methods. Structural-group analysis, infrared spectroscopy of the original bitumen and aged for control in the aging