Advanced Testing and Characterization of Bituminous Materials, Two Volume Set

Bituminous materials are used to build durable roads that sustain diverse environmental conditions. However, due to their complexity and a global shortage of these materials, the design and technical development of bituminous materials has become challenging. The International Union for Testing and Research Laboratories for Materials and Structures RILEM has contributed to this challenging task for the past several years through Technical Committees that focus on the characterization and performance of bituminous binders and mixtures. These Committees provide a platform for researchers from all over the world to share their expertise, develop recommendations on testing and evaluation approaches and publish stateof-the-art reports and papers in the RILEM Journal of Materials and Structures as well as other journals and conferences. The ATCBM09 RILEM Symposium aims to provide an international forum for the exchange of ideas, information, and knowledge amongst experts involved in the development and implementation of specifications for the experimental characterization, design, utilization and evaluation of binders and bituminous mixes.

This Symposium represents the seventh in a series of RILEM Symposia on characterization, performance testing, and evaluation of bituminous binders and mixtures. In chronological order, the previous symposia convened at the following locations: 1st 1968 Dresden, 2nd 1975 Budapest, 3rd 1983 Belgrade, 4th 1990 Budapest, 5th 1997 Lyon, 6th 2003 Zürich, 7th 2009 Rhodes. All submitted contributions were subjected to an exhaustive refereed peer review procedure by at least three reviewers and the Editors. On the basis of their recommendations, the papers that contributed to the symposium subject and met the goals and the objectives of the Symposium were selected for inclusion in the Proceedings.

The accepted contributions indicate that many researchers from the academia, industry, and governmental agencies are currently utilizing advanced experimental and computational techniques to better understand the behavior of binders and bituminous mixtures and their role in the design and performance of complex pavement systems. The Proceedings clearly show that modern experimental material characterization techniques, sophisticated constitutive modeling, and innovative design provide the appropriate tools for pavement performance prediction. This ultimately would lead to the development and implementation of truly “mechanistic” pavement design methodologies.