Evaluation of Proprietary Rejuvenators

Status: Complete
Report Date: 10/16/2025

Summary:

The scope of this study included a thorough evaluation of the short-term and long-term performance of Spray-on Rejuvenators (SORs) to assess their effectiveness in extending asphalt pavement life. Laboratory testing on cores extracted from field included a modified Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR) to measure creep stiffness at different temperatures (20°C, 4°C, and -10°C) at multiple aging conditions. Results showed that SORs had the greatest impact at 20°C, while differences between treated and control sections were less significant at lower temperatures. In the MnROAD28 section, most SORs reduced creep stiffness after one year, with some remaining effective for two years. By the third year, only Reclamite, ARA1 Ti, CRF, and RPE-R showed lower creep stiffness than control. In the MnROAD34 section, microcracks initially increased stiffness due to a bridging effect, but softening effects became dominant over time. Field studies assessed permeability, surface friction, albedo, and mean texture depth (MTD). SOR applications reduced pavement marking reflectivity and increased Albedo over time. MTD remained relatively constant for most sections, except for CRF and GSB-88, where the MTD values increased due to fine sand/gravel applications, but later decreased. Friction measurements showed minor reductions immediately after application, but most SORs regained or exceeded initial values after one year. Both field and lab results also indicated that SORs had minimal impact on permeability, rutting and skid resistance. The findings suggest SORs slow pavement aging, though their effectiveness diminishes over time, requiring reapplication within two to three years.

Final Deliverables:

Evaluation of Proprietary Rejuvenators (Report #2025-39)
Assessing Rejuvenators That Extend Pavement Life (Research Summary)

Related Materials:

Assessing Rejuvenators that Extend Pavement Service Life (Blog Post)

Related Research:

Project Personnel:

Principal Investigator: Muhammed Kutay

Co-Principal Investigator: Bora Cetin, Syed Haider, Mike Lanotte

Technical Liaison: JinYeene Neumann

Project Coordinator: Marcus Bekele