High-Temperature Performance of Polymer-Modified Asphalt Mixes: Preliminary Evaluation of the Usefulness of Standard Technical Index in Polymer-Modified Asphalt

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to evaluate the high-temperature performance of polymer-modified asphalt and asphalt mixtures, and to investigate if the standard technical indexes are useful in the performance evaluation of the polymer-modified asphalt. There are four typically used polymer-modified asphalt types employed in the study. The standard high-temperature rheological test, such as the temperature sweep test, was used to express the high-temperature performance of the polymer-modified asphalt. Also, considering the non-Newtonian fluid properties of the polymer-modified asphalt, the multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) and zero-shear viscosity (ZSV) tests were employed for the characterizations. Besides, based on the mixture design of SMA-13, the high temperature of the polymer-modified asphalt mixture was evaluated via Marshall stability and rutting tests. The test results concluded that the ranking of the four kinds of polymer-modified asphalt was different in various laboratory tests. The TB-APAO has the best technical indexes in MSCR and ZSV tests, while the WTR-APAO performed best in the temperature sweep test. In addition, the correlation between the polymer-modified asphalt and the asphalt mixture was very poor. Thus, the present standard technical indexes for the profoundly polymer-modified asphalt mixtures are no longer suitable.

Evaluation and Comparison of Mechanical Properties of Polymer-Modified Asphalt Mixtures

“…Asphalt binders can be made harder by modification. Different types of modifiers were tried worldwide to enhance the rheological properties of asphalt binder, such as polymers [1][2][3][4][5][6], crumb rubber [5,[7][8][9][10][11], waste plastic [12][13][14][15][16], geopolymers [17], and nano-materials [18][19][20][21]. Polymers are commonly used to modify and improve the rheological properties of asphalt binders.…”

“…Several studies have explored the effect of using modifiers on asphalt binder and mixture properties. The results of these studies showed that polymer modification could alter binder properties by increasing the softening point [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 14 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ], increasing the viscosity [ 3 , 37 , 39 , 40 ], decreasing the penetration [ 2 , 3 , 14 , 37 , 38 ], and improving the performance grade [ 2 , 4 , 6 , 37 , 41 ]. For asphalt mixture, the previous studies indicated that polymers could improve the mechanical properties of asphalt mixture, such as resilient modulus [ 14 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ], fatigue cracking resistance [ 4 , 14 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ], and rutting resistance [ 43 , 50 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 ].…”

Evaluation of Susceptibility of Asphalt Binders to Rutting through MSCR Test

“…In order to characterize the rutting resistance of asphalt more accurately, new parameters such as Sheony parameter, zero shear viscosity (ZSV), and unrecoverable creep compliance are proposed. Among them, the unrecoverable creep compliance obtained by multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) test is considered to be able to evaluate the rutting resistance potential of asphalt [11][12][13][14].…”

Performance Evaluation of Modified Bitumen Using EPS Beads for Green and Sustainable Development of Polymer-Based Asphalt Mixtures

“…This method involves the crushing of the material that is to be used into very small sizes and carefully blending with heated bitumen to ensure proper homogenous mixing. The existing literature includes the utilization of polymers, such as end-of-life tires (ELTs), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polymerizing vinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PET), and silicon resin polymers [4,[6][7][8][9]. In the case of dry mixing, the modifier is introduced and transferred to the mixer with aggregates and pure bitumen (unmodified).…”