O'Connell, JohanMaina, J.W. (James)Steyn, Wynand Jacobus Van der Merwe2025-02-262025-02-262024-03O'Connell, J., Maina, J. & Steyn, W.J.V. 2024, 'Short term ageing of asphalt binder in thin asphalt layers', Construction and Building Materials, vol. 418, art. 135386, pp. 1-11, doi : 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.135386.0950-0618 (print)1879-0526 (online)10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.135386http://hdl.handle.net/2263/101241DATA AVAILABILITY : Data will be made available on request.The effects of ageing on pavement performance are significant, particularly in terms of fatigue cracking. South Africa has the 10th longest road network in the world, requiring innovative approaches to road construction due to severe budget constraints. Innovative solutions such as thin asphalt concrete layers for surfacing, result in unique ageing rates of the layers, which, in general, have a higher incidence of fatigue cracking than, for example, thicker asphalt concrete layers used in other parts of the world. The objective of this paper is to evaluate how ageing mechanisms affect various asphalt binder properties, and whether they affect them to the same extent or not. Furthermore, the objective of the paper is also to determine the accuracy of the Rolling Thin Film Oven Test (RTFOT) in simulating short-term ageing in the field. The RTFOT provides a relatively good indication of short-term ageing, according to this multi-decade ageing study, and the effect on the asphalt binder properties used as ageing indices depends on the specific property chosen for comparison before and after ageing.en© 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Construction and Building Materials. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. A definitive version was subsequently published in Construction and Building Materials, vol. 418, art. 135386, pp. 1-11, doi : 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.135386.Asphalt cementBitumenAsphalt binderAgeingField ageingRolling thin film oven test (RTFOT)SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructurePostprint Article