Weathering aging of modified asphalt binders

The effect of solar radiation on aging of the asphalt binder can be considered relevant due to the high level of insulation in several countries including Brazil. This work aims to study the weathering aging of conventional asphalt binder and styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS), hydrated lime, reactive ethylene terpolymer (RET) and polyphosphoric acid (PPA) modified asphalt binders. These modifiers represent the main compounds used to obtain improved performance from asphalt binder. The degradation of the samples was analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermal analysis. The styrene–butadiene–styrene, polyphosphoric acid, and hydrated lime asphalt binders showed a higher photo degradation resistance than the conventional asphalt binder for aging time up to 200 h, considering the infrared spectroscopy results. The temperature of maximum degradation increased after aging for the SBS asphalt binders and for the hydrated lime asphalt binders.