Advances in Asphalt Materials

The urgent need for infrastructure rehabilitation and maintenance has led to a rise in the levels of research into bituminous materials. Breakthroughs in sustainable and environmentally friendly bituminous materials are certain to have a significant impact on national economies and energy sustainability. This book will provide a comprehensive review on recent advances in research and technological developments in bituminous materials. Opening with an introductory chapter on asphalt materials and a section on the perspective of bituminous binder specifications, Part One covers the physiochemical characterisation and analysis of asphalt materials. Part Two reviews the range of distress (damage) mechanisms in asphalt materials, with chapters covering cracking, deformation, fatigue cracking and healing of asphalt mixtures, as well as moisture damage and the multiscale oxidative aging modelling approach for asphalt concrete. The final section of this book investigates alternative asphalt materials. Chapters within this section review such aspects as alternative binders for asphalt pavements such as bio binders and RAP, paving with asphalt emulsions and aggregate grading optimization.