Background & Objectives

The RILEM Technical Committee 206-ATB: Advanced Testing and Characterization of Bituminous Materials (www.rilem.net) promotes international synergies and coordinates research efforts and encourages researchers and engineers from all over the world to share their knowledge, new experiences and ideas in this symposium.

The 6th RILEM symposium on performance testing for bituminous materials PTEBM'03 in Zurich which was organized by the former TC 182-PEB: Performance Testing and Evaluation of Bituminous Materials revealed that several aspects that should be further investigated in the complex field of performance related binder and asphalt testing as well as in test specimen preparation. This, in relation with the new trends in testing and application of bituminous materials (e.g. low energy pavement mixtures), provides a challenging field for an international knowledge exchange. As a consequence, the timing is right to hold the 7th international RILEM symposium in 2009.

Symposium Objectives

• Promote international networking in development and implementation of performance-oriented fundamental test methods.
• Reveal areas of international synergies and coordinate research efforts
• Highlight state-of-the art experiences on different laboratory and field tests for perfor - mance-oriented bituminous materials evaluation and pavement design
• Evaluate quality and application range of the test methods as well as their suitability for standardization
• Identify gaps and new research needs