“Additives in Asphalt” was the topic of Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists’ (AAPT) Fall 2018 webinar series. The series consists of three webinars. The first will discuss additives in asphalt mixtures and will provide the foundation for the second and third webinar. The second will delve into the recent developments of how asphalt binder tests have changed, partially because of additives, in order to better understand modified asphalt binder behavior. Finally, the third webinar will explore what is on the horizon for additives in asphalt, including movement toward fundamental characterization through chemistry, sustainability, and engineered design. Note that price of specific additives will not be discussed specifically in this webinar series as the series will focus more on a fundamental understanding of the role of additives in asphalt.

The third webinar in AAPT’s Fall 2018 webinar series, “Additives in Asphalt,” will explore the future of additives in asphalt. First, innovative tests being used to identify and characterize additives will be discussed. From Scanning Electron Microscopy in the lab to hand held microscopy in the field, there are many new tools that can quantify the building blocks of additives. Second, a review on the sustainability of additives will be presented. From lower life-time costs to longer high performance, the use of additives is changing how we quantify performance. The sustainability of additives can be tied to engineered designs in mixtures as well, as we move away from the basic Superpave mix design to a balanced mix design. Finally, a broad overview of the potential trajectory of additives moving forward will be provided. After this webinar, participants should be able to identify the possible direction of additives in asphalt moving forward and have some key tools to understand how we may quantify additives in asphalt in the future.