Durability of the adhesion between bituminous coatings and self-protection mineral granules of waterproofing membranes

Flat roofs in current buildings include a waterproofing system, often made of bituminous membranes with a self-protection constituted by mineral granules. These granules constitute the barrier against the fundamental environmental agent of degradation, the UV radiation. Therefore it is of paramount importance to understand the long-term performance of the self-protection layer, namely its adhesion to the coatings of bituminous membranes. This paper presents an experimental study on the behaviour of the self-protection granule of bituminous membranes when subjected to environmental agents of degradation. Different types of atactic polypropylene (APP) and styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) modified bituminous membranes, comprising different finishing systems, were exposed to the effects of elevated temperature and water for up to 24 weeks and 4 weeks, respectively. Following accelerated ageing, specimens of the different types of membranes were subjected to brushing tests, carried out according to EN 12039, in order to evaluate the adhesion of the self-protection granules. The results obtained in this study, which are compared with performance limits recommended by UEAtc directives, show that the higher loss of self-protection granule of bituminous membranes occurs in membranes modified by APP polymers. In addition, it was concluded that the effect of water is much more severe than that of elevated temperature.