ASPHALT DETERIORATION OF ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT IRRADIATION TESTING ON PAVEMENT SURFACE

Abstract

 Embrittlement of asphalt binder, as an adhesive, induces asphalt pavement surface cracking with traffic load and temperature change. Asphalt degradation is mainly the result of oxidative reaction, and may be caused by ultra violet rays effect in addition to high temperature exposure during construction and summertime heat. Although there are previous findings focusing on laboratory binder testing and samples investigation from road pavement, only a few researches have reported on the evaluation of UV effect using asphalt mixtures. This research confirmed that asphalt deterioration at very surface is the most severe and the rate of degradation can be estimated by accumulative amount of UV light, by the strong UV light radiation tests on asphalt mixtures. Asphalt degradation is depending on the quality of surface mixture, and compaction rate particularly has high impact on the aging level. It is also verified that a pavement surface treatment such as slurry sealing can inhibit asphalt degradation by the effect of an UV light barrier.