Laboratory Study and Field Validation of the Performance of Salt-Storage Asphalt Mixtures

Abstract

The traditional method of removing ice and snow on roads carries the risk of damaging roads and the environment. In this circumstance, the technology of salt-storage asphalt pavement has gradually attracted attention. However, snow-melting salts may also have an impact on asphalt mixture performance. To explore the effect of snow-melting salts on the mechanical and surface properties of salt-storage asphalt mixtures (SSAM), SSAMs were prepared with styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS)-modified asphalt and high-elastic asphalt (HEA) as binders and snow-melting salts as fillers. The influence of the type of asphalt binder and the content of snow-melting salt on the performance of the SSAM was preliminarily investigated through laboratory tests. The results show that the high-temperature, low-temperature, and moisture resistance performance of the SBS group SSAM decreased by 9.8–15.1%, 1.6–12.3%, and 6.3–19.4%, respectively, compared with SBS00. The higher the amount of snow-melting salt, the greater the performance drop. The three mechanical properties of the HEA group containing high-elastic agent TPS are 11.3–19.7%, 4.2–12.3%, and 4.8–13.3% higher than that of the SBS group. Even when the content of snow-melting salt is 50% or 75%, the mechanical properties of the HEA group are better than that of SBS00 without snow-melting salt. Snow-melting salt has clear advantages in improving the anti-skid performance but decreases the anti-spalling performance. The surface properties of the HEA group were also better than that of the SBS group. Considering the mechanical properties and surface properties, the comprehensive performance of the HEA group is better than that of the SBS group, and HEA50 has the best comprehensive performance. In addition, the construction performance of the SSAM has also been verified, and the production of SSAM according to the hot mix asphalt can meet the specification requirements.

Study on the Long-Term Salt Release Characteristics of Self-Melting Ice Asphalt Mixtures and Their Impact on Pavement Performance

“…Addressing methods to reduce winter pavement icing has become a focal point of interest among numerous scholars [5,6]. Currently, pavement snow removal methods primarily involve manual snow removal [7], mechanical snow removal [8,9], and the application of deicing salt [10]. However, these methods all, to varying degrees, consume traffic resources and suffer from delayed deicing effects [11], thereby failing to address icy road surfaces promptly [12,13].…”