Investigation of the bulk and surface microstructure of bitumen by atomic force microscopy

The experiments demonstrate that Bee structures are present in different binders but display very different shapes and sizes. However: image analysis indicates that the unit cell inside these structures is rather constant and independent of the binder type. This work confirms a relationship between natural wax and Bee structures and it also shows that Bee structures, as such, are a surface phenomenon which is not present in the bulk phase volume of samples.