The paper presents a possibility of using ultrasonic shear wave reflection (USWR) method to monitor the hardening process of bituminous binder. The method is based on a special instrument USWR-4 Hardening Meter. Using this instrument, a shear wave reflection coefficient at the buffer/test material interface and the material temperature can be measured continuously. Four measuring probes allow the measurements to be performed at four locations simultaneously, which is crucial when evaluating measurements directly in-situ. Special software was also developed to monitor the development of the shear wave reflection coefficient and the material temperature online as well as to adequately save the data. Different types of bitumens were tested to achieve the objective of this study. The results show that the shear wave reflection coefficient increases with the decrease in the material temperature in the temperature range of −20 to 120°C, which is closely related to a higher stiffness and higher shear modulus of the material at lower temperatures.
B.06 Other
COBISS.SI-ID: 1029470Bituminous binder in asphalt mixtures acts as a binding material and has a great influence on the behavior of asphalt mixtures. This article presents the use of an ultrasonic shear wave reflection (USWR) method on bituminous binder. The temperature dependence of a shear wave reflection coefficient Δr, which is closely related to the dynamic shear modulus G of the material, was measured for three different types of paving grade bituminous binder and sensitivity to the behavior of different types of binders was studied. Experimental results indicate that using this non-destructive technique, hardening process of different bituminous binder can be measured effectively in-situ.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 1029214