Recommendation of RILEM TC 237-SIB on affinity between aggregates and bituminous binders

These recommendations are based on the results of a round robin test organised by the RILEM technical committee TC 237-SIB “Testing and characterization of sustainable innovative bituminous materials and systems”. The Task Group 1 (TG1) focused on binder testing. The aim of the TG1 was to further understand the fundamental mechanism of water interaction in asphalt mixture, and to review the various test methods available to evaluate the affinity of bituminous binders to aggregate surfaces. A total of 13 laboratories participated, running different test methods. Three bituminous binders and four aggregate types were selected for testing. These recommendations focus on the main aspects related to testing procedure, measurement and presentation of results. While some qualitative trends are observed, there is still a wide scattering in results both within the same test method and between test methods. This is not only related to a visual interpretation of the degree of bitumen coverage, but also theoretical and numerical analyses of test results. The overall recommendation is to consider the results within qualitative classes.