The oxidative aging of bitumen was investigated chemically and structurally using SARA analysis, TOF-SIMS and AFM. Typical wax-containing and non-waxy bitumen samples were selected. Short- and long-term aging tests were conducted under standard conditions, and at prolonged aging times. For both the wax-containing and non-waxy bitumen, aging significantly decreases the aromatic fraction and at the same time increase the content of resins and asphaltenes. AFM shows bee-like structures on the wax-containing bitumen surface, and these structures change when the binder is aged. The bee structures are fewer but larger after a prolonged PAV. For the non-waxy bitumen, no structures were observed, even not after a severe PAV aging that increased the content of asphaltenes significantly. This implies that asphaltenes are most likely not responsible for the formation of bee structures. By TOF-SIMS, the non-waxy bitumen surface did not show structures, neither in the virgin state nor after the severe oxidative aging, further supporting that asphaltenes do not directly result in structure formation. For the wax-containing bitumen, TOF-SIMS shows aliphatics-enriched structures, which generally become larger after oxidative aging.

使用SARA分析，TOF-SIMS和AFM进行化学和结构上的沥青氧化老化研究。选择典型的含蜡和非蜡质沥青样品。短期和长期老化测试是在标准条件下进行的，并且老化时间较长。对于含蜡的沥青和非蜡质的沥青，老化会显着降低芳烃含量，同时会增加树脂和沥青质的含量。AFM在含蜡的沥青表面显示出蜂状结构，并且这些结构在粘合剂老化时会发生变化。长时间的PAV后，蜜蜂的结构变少但变大。对于非蜡质沥青，没有观察到结构，即使在严重的PAV老化后也没有观察到这种现象，沥青的含量明显增加。这意味着沥青质最有可能不负责蜂结构的形成。通过TOF-SIMS，无论是在原始状态还是在严重的氧化老化之后，非蜡状的沥青表面均未显示出结构，这进一步支持了沥青质不会直接导致结构形成。对于含蜡的沥青，TOF-SIMS显示出富含脂肪族化合物的结构，该结构通常在氧化老化后变大。