Adhesion in Bitumen-Aggregate-Systems

ABSTRACT The loss of adhesion between the binder and the aggregate in the presence of water is a major mechanism of deterioration in bituminous pavement materials. For consideration and evaluation of factors influencing the adhesion properties, a number of testing techniques have been developed. Among these the Rolling Bottle Test according to the European Standard EN 12697-11 is most common to sort out good from bad bitumen-aggregate systems. Even though the boundary conditions of the test are specified in detail, the residual degree of bitumen coverage is estimated from visual inspection. This is usually complained as the main disadvantage of the Rolling Bottle Test. Thus, for the elimination of any subjective manipulation in interpreting Rolling Bottle Test results, and for a reduction of manpower needed for test analysis, a computer aided analysis technique is suggested in this paper.