Magnetic Resonance Imaging of drying bitumen emulsions

Marie Goavec (1) , Stéphane Rodts (1) , Vincent Gaudefroy (2) , Pamela Françoise Faure (1) , Philippe Coussot (1)

1 NAVIER UMR 8205 - Laboratoire Navier
2 MAST-MIT - Matériaux pour Infrastructure de Transport

From Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) measurements allowing to distinguish separately the density distribution of the two phases of the system, we show that bitumen emulsions essentially dry homogeneously, with nevertheless a slight concentration gradient increasing towards the sample free surface exposed to air. Remarkably, despite the resulting large concentration of bitumen droplets formed around the free surface of the sample, the bitumen droplets do not coalesce before the very last stages of drying. In parallel the drying rate strongly and continuously decreases, which is attributed to the reduction of the hydraulic network connected to the sample free surface.

Mots clés: BITUMEN EMULSIONS; DRYING; MRI

Mots clés: EMULSION DE BITUME; SECHAGE; IMAGERIE A RESONNANCE MAGNETIQUE; EMULSION; BITUME

Domaines: Génie civil; Matériaux

Marie Goavec, Stéphane Rodts, Vincent Gaudefroy, Pamela Françoise Faure, Philippe Coussot. Magnetic Resonance Imaging of drying bitumen emulsions. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 2020, 591, 22 p. ⟨10.1016/j.colsurfa.2020.124512⟩. ⟨hal-03594425⟩