Effect of Asphalt Emulsion Storage Conditions on the Behaviour of Cold Asphalt Mix

The main objective is to evaluate the effect of storage temperature and period of asphalt emulsion on emulsion conditioning and cold asphalt mix (CAM) properties. The asphalt emulsion was subjected to five levels (1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days) of storage conditioning at four temperature levels (5, 15, 25, and 40 °C). Storage stability, viscosity, and consistency tests were used to assess the change in asphalt emulsion behaviour. Further, the CAM design was carried out and mix design parameters such as optimum total fluid content and optimum emulsion content were evaluated with the indirect tensile strength (ITS) test. The CAM mixes were prepared using 20 different conditioned emulsions with a constant optimum emulsion content. Based on the findings, the asphalt emulsion’s stability and viscosity reduced with increased storage period and temperature. The storage time was reduced by three times when the storage temperature was increased from 5 to 40 °C, as noticed from storage stability. However, the penetration values were inconclusive in capturing the effect of asphalt emulsion storage conditions. The ITS values decreased as the storage period extended from 1 to 28 days, with the 28-day emulsion storage significantly impacting the tensile strength of CAM. The results from the study findings point towards storing the asphalt emulsion at a temperature lower than 25 °C.