Addressing ageing characteristics of bituminous binders in Europe

Simulating the ageing of bituminous binders in European laboratories is harmonised by the introduction of European standards. For short term ageing, the EN 12607 series describes three different conditioning methods using the RTFOT, the TFOT and the RFT. For long term ageing, the conditioning is described in EN 14769 for PAV and EN 15323 for RCAT. Other short and long term ageing protocols have been proposed, but the methods are not yet standardised in Europe. Task Group 3 of CEN/TC336 WG1 has been re-convened to review the existing harmonised conditioning methods and evaluate other protocols. The aim is to produce a recommendation of which method (or methods) should be considered for European Standardisation and possible introduction into a new European performance-related binder specification. It is recognised that different types of binder will need different approaches. Short term ageing protocols for PMBs and warm mix binders have to be considered and long term ageing protocols for all binders need to be established. TG3 is gathering all the available knowledge to enable the review of existing standards and the evaluation of other conditioning protocols. This paper will describe the background of the process and provide information on the methods under consideration and the discussion regarding their suitability for different binders.