Abstract
Increased traffic intensity and global warming require improvements in the requirements for the physico-mechanical characteristics of road construction materials. Standard physico-mechanical indicators of bitumen binders are insufficient for their recommendation in the composition of asphalt concrete mixtures, therefore it is necessary to determine their rheological characteristics according to the Superpave system. In this work, for the first time, recommendations for petroleum bitumens by traffic categories were established as a result of tests according to the Superpave system. The standard physico-mechanical and rheological characteristics of bitumens BND 70/100 and BND 100/130 before and after aging are determined. Bitumen BND 70/100 has a higher upper critical temperature before and after aging compared to bitumen BND 100/130, which confirms its rigidity and better rutting resistance at higher temperatures. Multiple Stress Creep Recovery tests showed that bitumen BND 100/130 demonstrates better rutting resistance characteristics and lower sensitivity to load changes compared to bitumen BND 70/100. Bitumen BND 70/100 has an index of non-recoverable creep compliance at a load of 3.2 kPa equal to 1.0931 kPa-1, corresponds to the “H” marking and is recommended for intensive traffic. Bitumen BND 100/130 has this indicator equal to 0.8158 kPa-1, corresponds to the marking “V” and is recommended for very intensive traffic.