Interlaboratory study on low temperature asphalt binder testing using Dynamic Shear Rheometer with 4 mm diameter parallel plate geometry
Johannes Büchner, Michael P. Wistuba, Ondřej Dašek, Matthias Staschkiewicz, Hilde Soenen, Adam Zofka, Torsten Remmler
Abstract
An interlaboratory study was conducted among 20 European road asphalt laboratories, to screen current test protocols for testing low temperature properties of asphalt binders using a Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) with 4 mm diameter parallel plate geometry. From the comparison of the test protocols for conducting temperature-frequency sweep tests between −30°C and 0°C, and between 0.1 and 10 Hz respectively, remarkable differences were identified in terms of the specimen preparation, of specimen geometry, of specimen conditioning and of oscillation amplitudes. Results of complex shear modulus and phase angle demonstrate good repeatability and general applicability of the 4 mm geometry. However, significant deviations were obtained between different participants, implicating the need for standardisation. For an extended repeatability and reproducibility analysis, and to obtain a sound basis for the revision of the corresponding European Standard EN 14770, a follow-up interlaboratory study was recently started based on this study, prescribing a detailed test protocol.