In the process of asphalt pavement production in practice it is observed, that the state of polymer modified binders has altered in comparison to the original state as a result of thermal stress in the heating process. The main causes can be attributed to overheating and long storage or transportation time. In this process mainly the PMB is damaged since as a rule polymers are more temperature sensitive than bitumen. This leads to altered characteristics at low and/or high temperatures which affect directly the behaviour of the road pavement.

The investigation of the binder in the completed pavement is not an easy process and generally the binder has to be extracted. But there are legitimate doubts whether the PMB can be extracted in full. In addition to this fact the microstructure of the polymer framework in the PMB might be changed, resulting in altered binder properties.

Only PmB containing a polymer which is soluble in a solvent at room temperature can be analysed by gel permeation chromatography and can directly show the polymer degradation. In view of the presented situation a test method allowing the evaluation of the completed road pavement without binder extraction would be a major advantage.