Hand scanner measures bitumen quality
(World News Austria)

Asphalt does not last forever. At some point, it ages and starts to crumble. This has to do with the bitumen, the sticky binding agent, which holds and keeps the rock content in the asphalt. Bitumen is a petroleum product consisting of several organic components, which undergo a chemical change over time. Until now, the condition of bitumen could only be approximately measured in a laboratory. At the Vienna University of Technology, a much easier and more accurate method has now been developed: By means of a fluorescence analysis, this small, mobile hand scanner can measure the bitumen`s quality in a quick and simple way. Aged bitumen loses its useful properties `Several causes can have a...