Feasibility Study of Zinc Diethyldithiocarbamate (ZDC) Modified Asphalt Mixture for Enhanced Safety through Improved Aging Resistance in Asphalt Pavement

Pavement surface distresses directly affect ride comfort and indirectly cause distraction to the driver resulting in loss of control of the vehicle, which may lead to injuries or deaths. Thermo-oxidative aging of asphalt binder is a key driver of asphalt pavement performance deterioration and distress development, which directly affect ride quality. As a result, mitigating asphalt aging is essential for maintaining pavement performance and ensuring roadway safety. Zinc diethyldithiocarbamate (ZDC), an emerging antioxidant, has shown stronger anti-aging effectiveness than many conventional antioxidants. However, existing studies have primarily focused on binder-level and mixture-level, while its impact on pavement structural performance remains unclear. This leads to a gap in that the effectiveness of ZDC has not yet been validated in terms of its ultimate objective — improving pavement structural performance and safety. The objective of this proposed study is to address this gap by linking laboratory aging characterization of ZDC-modified materials with pavement performance prediction. Comprehensive laboratory testing will be conducted to characterize the aging resistance and mechanical properties of ZDC-modified materials and to provide the required inputs for pavement performance prediction. The pavement structural analysis tool, FlexPAVE, which integrates the recently developed pavement aging model (PAM) and distress prediction models, will be used to predict pavement performance while explicitly incorporating aging mechanisms. ZDC-modified pavement structures will be simulated under representative U.S. climate zones to evaluate the effectiveness of ZDC under diverse environmental conditions, considering that aging rates and dominant distress modes may change with climate patterns. The results will offer insight into the practical use of ZDC for improving pavement performance and safety.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $160,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552348307

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Mid-America Transportation Center

  University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  2200 Vine Street, PO Box 830851
  Lincoln, NE  United States  68583-0851
• Project Managers:

  Bruner, Britain

• Performing Organizations:

  Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rolla

  Department of Engineering
  202 University Center
  Rolla, MO    65409
• Principal Investigators:

  Liu, Jenny

• Start Date: 20260601
• Expected Completion Date: 20270531
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Antioxidants; Asphalt mixtures; Highway safety; Material aging; Pavement distress; Pavement performance; Predictive models; Ride quality; Zinc
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Materials; Pavements; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01989526
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Mid-America Transportation Center
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552348307
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: May 19 2026 1:37PM