An unrefined shale bitumen was evaluated as an agent to reduce moisture damage susceptibility of asphalt aggregate mixtures. Some activity was observed but less than might have been expected based on the molecular weight and nitrogen content of the bitumen. The counter effects of free carboxylic acids, which are known to be variable in asphalt and which are also present in the unrefined bitumen, appear to diminish the activity of the bitumen to inhibit moisture damage. 5 refs., 1 tab.

Semiannual, with semiannual and annual indexes. References to all scientific and technical literature coming from DOE, its laboratories, energy centers, and contractors. Includes all works deriving from DOE, other related government-sponsored information, and foreign nonnuclear information. Arranged under 39 categories, e.g., Biomedical sciences, basic studies; Biomedical sciences, applied studies; Health and safety; and Fusion energy. Entry gives bibliographical information and abstract. Corporate, author, subject, report number indexes.

An evaluation of eastern shale oil (ESO) residue as an asphalt additive to reduce oxidative age hardening and moisture susceptibility was conducted by Western Research Institute (WRI). The ESO residue, have a viscosity of 23.9 Pa{lg_bullet}s at 60°C (140°F), was blended with three different petroleum-derived asphalts, ASD-1, AAK-1, and AAM-1, which are known to be very susceptible to oxidative aging. Rheological and infrared analyses of the unaged and aged asphalts and the blends were then conducted to evaluate oxidative age hardening. In addition, the petroleum-derived asphalts and the blends were coated onto three different aggregates, Lithonia granite (RA), a low-absorption limestone (RD), and a siliceous Gulf Coast gravel (RL), and compacted into briquettes. Successive freeze-thaw cycling was then conducted to evaluate the moisture susceptibility of the prepared briquettes. The rheological analyses of the unaged petroleum-derived asphalts and their respective blends indicate that the samples satisfy the rutting requirement. However, the aging indexes for the rolling thin film oven (RTFO)-aged and RTFO/pressure aging vessel (PAV)-aged samples indicate that the blends are stiffer than the petroleum-derived asphalts. This means that when in service the blends will be more prone to pavement embrittlement and fatigue cracking than the petroleum-derived asphalts. Infrared analyses were also conducted on the three petroleum-derived asphalts and the blends before and after RTFO/PAV aging. In general, upon RTFO/PAV aging, the amounts of carbonyls and sulfoxides in the samples increase, indicating that the addition of the ESO residue does not mitigate the chemical aging (oxidation) of the petroleum-derived asphalts. This information correlates with the rheological data and the aging indexes that were calculated for the petroleum-derived asphalts and the blends.

An evaluation of eastern shale oil as an asphalt additive to reduce oxidative age hardening and moisture susceptibility is being conducted. An eastern shale oil residue having a viscosity of 1.30 Pa's at 60°C (140°F) was blended with three different petroleum-derived asphalts that are known to be very susceptible to oxidative aging. In addition, blends of the eastern shale oil residue and the petroleum-derived asphalts are being coated onto three different aggregates that are known to be susceptible to water stripping. The oxidative age hardening portion of this study is not complete at this time. To date, information has been obtained on the unaged samples and two of the aged petroleum-derived asphalts (AAD-1 and AAK-1). When complete, this data will include rheological data on the unaged, RTFO-aged, and the RTFO/PAV-aged samples and infrared data on the unaged and RTFO/PAV-aged samples. With respect to the rheological data, asphalt AAD-1 meets the specifications of a PG 58 asphalt while asphalt AAK-1 does not. In the latter case this indicates that AAK-1 is more appropriately evaluated at a higher temperature range. The infrared spectroscopic data obtained for the eastern shale oil residue show that it contains appreciable amounts of carbonyl and sulfoxide compound types, 0.22 absorbance units and 0. 27 moles/L, respectively. Thus, upon the addition of this residue to the three petroleum-derived asphalts the blends contain increased amounts of these functional groups relative to the petroleum-derived asphalts. This has been observed with other additives and is not considered detrimental. In addition, the data that has been collected to date indicate that the moisture susceptibility of blends of eastern shale oil residue and asphalt AAK-1 are somewhat improved when coated onto Lithonia granite.

The interaction between bitumen and aggregate is a primary determinant of asphalt mixture strength; not only is adhesion between bitumen and aggregate related to the aggregate, but it is also a bitumen property. Three different kinds of test methods are used to evaluate the bitumen aggregate bond: the water immersion test, the electro-optic colorimerty test, and the net adsorption test. Retained Marshall stability and modified Lottman test methods are used to evaluate the moisture damage to asphalt mixtures. The paper analyzes relationships between bitumen acid number and asphalt aggregate mixture performance. The results show that aggregate type has a dominant influence on the bitumen aggregate bond, but bitumen type also has an important influence on asphalt mixture performance. When the bitumen acid number is higher, the asphalt mixture is more resistant to moisture damage. The net adsorption test is a better method to evaluate the bitumen aggregate bond; the bitumen acid number can be used to evaluate moisture susceptibility with different bitumens.

The objective of this study was to perform a preliminary evaluation of using a distillation residue from Green River Formation (western) shale oil as an additive to a petroleum asphalt for use as a crack and joint filler material in portland cement concrete and asphaltic pavements. A commercially available rubberized asphalt crack and joint filler material was also tested for comparison. ASTM specification tests for sealant materials used in concrete and asphalt pavements were performed on the sealant materials. Portland cement concrete briquets prepared with an asphalt material sandwiched between two concrete wafers were tested in a stress-relaxation experiment to evaluate the relaxation and recovery properties of the sealant materials. The results show that the shale-oil modified petroleum asphalts and the neat petroleum asphalt do not pass the extension portion of the ASTM test; however, there is indication of improvement in the adhesive properties of the shale-oil modified asphalts. There is also evidence that the addition of shale-oil residue to the petroleum asphalt, especially at the 20% level, improves the relaxation and recovery properties compared with the petroleum asphalt.