Effect of genes on rheological properties of asphalt binders

The future studies of materials would inexorably be innovated by genome ideas. The concept of asphalt genes was introduced in this work to develop an understanding of the Structure-Activity relationship between asphalt genes and rheological behaviors. Firstly, virgin asphalt binders were prepared from six crude oils, and expanded the asphalt samples by ageing method. Then, thirty genes of asphalt were extracted using various chemical composition methods and the improved Brown-Ladner method. The rheological properties of asphalt were characterized by seven high-temperature and eight low-temperature parameters via systematic experiment investigation. Thirty genes of asphalt were translated into six principal components (ZG1, ZG2, ZG3, ZG4, ZG5, ZG6), and rheological parameters were also converted into two principal components in high-temperature (ZH1, ZH2) and two in low-temperature (ZL1, ZL2), respectively utilizing principal component analysis (PCA) method. Therefore, the Structure-Activity relationship between asphalt genes and rheological parameters was built. Subsequently, results demonstrated that both ZH1 and ZL1 can be reliably predicted through ZG parameters, achieving a goodness of fit exceeding 98% statistically. The findings provide insights into asphalt design and fabrication at the genetic dimension.