Effect of organic deicing agents on asphalt rheology and analysis of the mechanism

In this work, the effect of organic deicing agents on the asphalt rheology and the corresponding mechanism are analyzed. Four kinds of deicing agents (A(3)N, A(2)C, A(2)A, NaCl) are adopted in immersion corrosion of matrix and styrene-butadienestyrene (SBS) modified asphalt. The phase angle and other rheological indexes are measured to quantify the effect. The influence of organic deicing agents on the molecular structure and components of asphalt is analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR), and the change of cation concentration in each deicing agent solution is detected by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES) to reveal the cation infiltration movement into asphalt microscopically. Based on Fick's law, a cation infiltration model is established and the concentration distribution function is derived to quantify the diffusion characteristics. After immersion corrosion, the phase angles of the two types of asphalt are enhanced, while the rutting factors and the fatigue factors are abated. The corroding effect of organic deicing agents is less than that of NaCl. The proportion of light and heavy components in asphalt has been changed with increases in heavy aromatic rings, long-chain cycloalkanes, oxidized sulfoxides, and carbonyl compounds in accordance with the FTIR inspection. The diffusion characteristics of the deicing agents are investigated through the established cationic penetration model. The goodness of fit of the organic deicing agents in the model is lower than that of NaCl, indicating that the penetration of the organic deicing agents' cations in asphalt is more complex. The diffusion contrary to the concentration gradient exists. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.