## 3 Materials, Sample Preparation, and Experimental Methods
### Experimental Methods
The BBS test was conducted on short-term aged CB, CRMB, and PMB binders as per AASHTO T 361, as shown in Figure 3.  
The granite aggregate samples were cut into approximately rectangular shapes (100 mm \(\times\) 100 mm) to accommodate the testing of at least three replicate samples. The pull-off stubs were initially heated at 150 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 30 min to remove the moisture, if any. Aggregate substrates were also kept at 60 \({}^{\circ}\)C for preparing specimens for BBS testing. Preheated asphalt binder was initially poured into a silicon mold (to accommodate the control volume required for sample preparation). Aggregate substrates and pull-off stubs were further taken out from the oven, and asphalt binder from the silicon mold was instantly transferred to the pull-off stub and kept undisturbed for 10 s. The asphalt poured pull-off stub was further pressed firmly on the aggregate surface until an excessive amount oozed from the bottom of the stub. For dry conditioning, the samples were left at room temperature for 24 h. For wet conditioning, the samples were first kept at room temperature for 1 h, followed by submergence in the water bath at 40 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 24 h.  
Figure 3: Bitumen bond strength (BBS) test setup. Figure 2: DSR used in the present study. Testing was performed using PATTI at a calibrated axial tensile loading rate of 0.69 MPa/sec. The Pull-Off Tensile Strength (POTS) value was calculated using Equation (4), and the Bond Strength Ratio (BSR) was evaluated as per Equation (5). \[POTS=\frac{\left(BP*A_{g}\right)-C}{A_{PS}}, \tag{4}\]  
\[BSR=\left(\frac{POTS_{wet}}{POTS_{dry}}\right), \tag{5}\]  
where \(Ag=\) contact area of gasket with reaction plate (mm2); \(BP=\) burst pressure (kPa); \(A_{PS}=\) area of pull stub (mm2); C = piston constant. The POTSs for the conditioned and unconditioned samples are referred as POTSwet and POTSdry, respectively. In order to evaluate the asphalt mixture properties, three types of mixtures (CB, CRMB, and PMB) was evaluated. The Superpave mix design procedure was adopted as per Superpave series No. 2 (SP-02), and subsequently the mixing and compaction temperatures adopted were 150-165 \({}^{\circ}\)C and 135 \({}^{\circ}\)C, respectively (SP-02). The design gyration (Ndes) of 75 gyrations was adopted to compact Superpave specimens with 100 mm diameters based on the nominal maximum aggregate size requirements, as recommended in SP-02. The mix design properties of the CB, CRMB, and PMB mixtures were conducted at three binder contents (5.5%, 6.0%, and 6.5%), and the design asphalt content (ACdesign) of each mixture was optimized based on the requirements of SP-02. To evaluate the workability properties, loose asphalt mixtures were compacted to 98% Gmm or 225 gyrations using SGC [24; 25]. The number of gyrations, CDI, and TDI were calculated by adopting the Bahia and locking point method [11; 12; 13]. To evaluate the rutting properties, asphalt slab specimens of dimensions \(300\times 300\)\(\times\) 50 mm were fabricated with a Voids in Total Mixtures (VTM) of 7.0 \(\pm\) 0.1% at their respective design asphalt contents. A small-size wheel tracking test device was used to evaluate the rutting properties (rut depth at 10,000 passes and dynamic stability) as per EN 12697-22 in dry conditions at a testing temperature of 60 \({}^{\circ}\)C. To evaluate the moisture-induced damage properties, mixtures were prepared at design asphalt contents and were compacted into cylindrical specimens (VTM of 7.0 \(\pm\) 0.1%). The moisture-induced damage properties, such as the indirect tensile strength (ITS) and tensile strength ratio (TSR), were evaluated according to AASHTO-T283 (modified Lottman test).