Damage accumulation derived from bitumen-fuel interaction is a primary reason of premature deterioration of asphalt pavements in airport systems, filling stations, industrial plants and all other areas where a risk of accidental fuel spilling exists. With regard to recent developments in asphalt binder technology related to the introduction of special kerosene-resistant bitumen, this paper deals with the development of experimental methodsto evaluate their effective fuel resistance. Four kerosene-resistant and traditional asphalt binders were processed by jet-fuel treatment under controlled conditions and their solubility was experimentally measured. At the same time, dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA) were performed on original and fuel-treated binders to investigate the effects of fuel on viscoelastic behavior. A parallel analysis was even carried out on asphalt mixtures prepared with the same four binders; according to EN 12697-43 (2005), a brush test device was used to evaluate their resistance to kerosene. Results of bitumen test program highlight that decisive differences exist between kerosene-resistant and traditional binders in terms of both solubility anddecay of rheological properties after fuel treatment. Contrary, results obtained from asphalt mixtures tests did not lead to any performance discrimination between the different materials tested. The final contribution concerns different aspects related to the development of performance-relatedcriteria and testing procedures to evaluate fuel damage in bituminous materials on the basis of fundamental materials properties.
Abstract