Recycled Polyethylene Modified Asphalt Binders and Mixtures: Performance Characteristics and Environmental Impact

Author(s):  
Ibrahim A. Abdalfattah ◽  
Walaa S. Mogawer ◽  
Kevin D. Stuart

This study addresses the effects of recycled polyethylene (RPE) on the performances of both asphalt binders and asphalt mixtures. Whether using RPE in an asphalt mixture might leach harmful chemicals into rainwater or melted snow was also determined. Two processes, wet and dry, were used to formulate the RPE modified asphalt binders and mixtures. In the wet process, RPE was added to asphalt binder. In the dry process, it was added to heated aggregates. RPE from two sources and PG 64-22 virgin asphalt binders from two sources were used in this study. In conclusion, RPE improved the rutting resistance of the asphalt binders and asphalt mixtures. However, it had adverse effects on their resistance to intermediate-temperature and non-load associated cracking. The dry process could produce a mixture with a higher RPE dosage compared with the wet process using one virgin asphalt binder but not the other; thus, the virgin asphalt binder source was a significant factor for the dry process. Based on an embryotoxicity test, it was found that RPE can be used by the asphalt paving industry without creating any significant environmental risks.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6634
Author(s):  
Hayder Al Hawesah ◽  
Monower Sadique ◽  
Clare Harris ◽  
Hassan Al Nageim ◽  
Karl Stopp ◽  
...  

Hot mix asphalt has various benefits such as good workability and durability. It is one of the most general materials used as asphalt mixtures in road pavements. Asphalt mixtures and binders can be improved by modifying them with various additives. Gilsonite is a natural asphalt hydrocarbon which may be used as an additive to hot mix asphalt. It is used as an asphalt binder modifier (wet process) and an asphalt mixture modifier (dry process) to improve the properties of the mix. It provides the option of improved rheological properties, stability, strength rutting resistance and moisture sensitivity. This paper examines the current research relating to the use of gilsonite to improve the asphalt properties (binder and mixture). The rheological properties of the modified asphalt binders and mechanical properties of the modified asphalt mixtures will be reviewed. The influence of adding gilsonite individually or combined with other additives will be discussed. Furthermore, assessment of the environmental and economic perspectives of the studied asphalt along with some suggestions to improve the asphalt binders and mixtures will be explored.


Author(s):  
Salih Kocak ◽  
M. Emin Kutay

Three major methods are used to produce crumb rubber modified asphalt pavement: the dry process (CRDry), the terminal blend process (CRTB), and the wet process (CRWet). Although the CRDry process replaces the portion of fine aggregate in the asphalt mixture with crumb rubber (CR) particles, the CRWet process incorporates CR particles into hot liquid asphalt before it is mixed with aggregates. CRTB is known as a special type of CRWet process in which the CR is blended with asphalt binder at the asphalt terminal. In general, the CRWet process can integrate 15% to 22% CR by weight of the binder. This amount ranges from 10% to 12% in the CRTB process as a result of the limitations associated with transportation and pumping. This study investigated the feasibility of increasing the CR content of CRTB modified asphalt mixtures. The addition to the mixture of about 0.5% CR (by weight of the mix) through the CRDry process doubled the amount of rubber to be found in a conventional CRTB mix. The relative performances of the CRTB and the CRTB+CRDry processes [i.e., crumb rubber hybrid (CRHY)] were investigated with respect to their linear viscoelastic properties, rutting susceptibility, moisture damage, resistance to fatigue, and low temperature cracking. It was shown that it was possible to increase the amount of CR in the mixture through the use of the CRHY method proposed here, without adverse effect on the performance of the mixture.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 69-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Karami ◽  
Ainalem Nega ◽  
Ahdyeh Mosadegh ◽  
Hamid Nikraz

The main objective this study is to evaluate the permanent deformation of buton rock asphalt (BRA) modified asphalt paving mixtures using dynamic creep test so that long term deformation behavior of asphalt mixtures can be characterized. The dynamic creep test was conducted on unmodified and BRA modified asphalt mixture using UTM25 machine. Asphalt cement of C170 from a regional supplier in Western Australia was used as the base asphalt binder for unmodified asphalt mixture; and BRA modified asphalt mixtures were made by substituting the base asphalt with 10, 20, and 30% (by weight of total asphalt binder) natural binder continuing granular BRA modified binder. The granular (pellets) BRA modified binder with a diameter of 7-10 mm was produced and extracted according the Australia Standard. Crushed granite was taken from a local quarry of the region; and dense graded for both unmodified and BRA modified asphalt mixture with the nominal size of 10 mm was used. The results of this analysis showed that BRA modified had a good performance as compared with unmodified asphalt mixtures, and increase in the content modified binder to 10%, 20%, and 30% resulted in decrease of the total permanent strain.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Ji ◽  
Hui Yao ◽  
Di Wang ◽  
Zhi Suo ◽  
Luhou Liu ◽  
...  

The objectives of this paper are to use Direct Coal Liquefaction Residue (DLCR) to modify the asphalt binders and mixtures and to evaluate the performance of modified asphalt mixtures. The dynamic modulus and phase angle of DCLR and DCLR-composite modified asphalt mixture were analyzed, and the viscoelastic properties of these modified asphalt mixtures were compared to the base asphalt binder SK-90 and Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) modified asphalt mixtures. The master curves of the asphalt mixtures were shown, and dynamic and viscoelastic behaviors of asphalt mixtures were described using the Christensen-Anderson-Marasteanu (CAM) model. The test results show that the dynamic moduli of DCLR and DCLR-composite asphalt mixtures are higher than those of the SK-90 and SBS modified asphalt mixtures. Based on the viscoelastic parameters of CAM models of the asphalt mixtures, the high- and low-temperature performance of DLCR and DCLR-composite modified asphalt mixtures are obviously better than the SK-90 and SBS modified asphalt mixtures. In addition, the DCLR and DCLR-composite modified asphalt mixtures are more insensitive to the frequency compared to SK-90 and SBS modified asphalt mixtures.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ovidijus Šernas ◽  
Audrius Vaitkus ◽  
Deimantė Kilaitė

The use of crumb rubber made from end of life tyres for asphalt mixtures modification in order to improve their properties or just utilize waste products may be considered as potential solution. Crumb rubber can be used as a bitumen modifier (wet process) or supplementary component of the asphalt mixture (dry process). Dry modification process has more potential due relatively unsophisticated technology and higher possible to use amount of crumb rubber comparing to the wet process. The performance of asphalt mixtures modified by dry process mainly depends on several factors as crumb rubber type, content and size. However, limited number of publications reported the results of dry method crumb rubber modified asphalt mixtures performance. This paper summarizes the latest findings from literature review on the modification technologies and specifications related to dry modification process, the effect of crumb rubber type and amount on modified asphalt mixture performance in terms of stiffness, rutting resistance, water sensitivity, resistance to fatigue and low temperature cracking. The algorithm of crumb rubber modified asphalt mix design was introduced.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 379-387
Author(s):  
Iuri S. Bessa ◽  
Márcia M. Takahashi ◽  
Kamilla L. Vasconcelos ◽  
Liedi L. B. Bernucci

AbstractThe addition of polymers on asphalt binders aims to enhance their performance, especially at high temperatures, which correspond to rutting resistance. The Superpave rutting parameter (|G*|/sinδ) has been considered to be inadequate to characterize the performance of modified materials, therefore the Multiple Stress Creep and Recovery (MSCR) test was developed, providing the parameter non-recoverable compliance (Jnr). This research has the main objective of correlating asphalt binders performance-based characterization with rutting resistance of asphalt mixtures, and presents results obtained for one conventional (50/70 penetration grade) and two modified asphalt binders (2.1% RET and 1.9% RET) regarding their rheological characteristics. With the use of the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), master curves and MSCR results were obtained for the three binders. In addition, permanent deformation tests were performed on the asphalt mixtures by means of laboratory traffic simulation. The rutting characterization indicated higher permanent deformation resistance for the modified binders for the asphalt binder and the asphalt mixture testing. The main conclusions were that the use of modified binder reduced in approximately 50% the Jnr values and the rut depth; also, the asphalt binders’ characteristics were able to predict the asphalt mixtures rutting resistance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasanain Radhi Radeef ◽  
Norhidayah Abdul Hassan ◽  
Ahmad Razin Zainal Abidin ◽  
Mohd Zul Hanif Mahmud ◽  
Nur Izzi Md. Yusoffa ◽  
...  

In recent years, the proliferation of plastic waste has become a global problem. A potential solution to this problem is the dry process, which incorporates plastic waste into asphalt mixtures. However, the dry process often has inconsistent performance due to poor interaction with binder and improper distribution of plastic waste particles in the mixture skeleton. This inconsistency may be caused by inaccurate mixing method, shredding size, mixing temperature and ingredient priorities. Thus, this study aims to improve the consistency of the dry process by comparing the control asphalt mixture and two plastic waste-modified asphalt mixtures prepared using the dry process. This study used crushed granite aggregate with the nominal maximum aggregate size of 14 mm whereas the shredded plastic bag is in the range of 5–10 mm. Quantitative sieving analysis and performance tests were carried out to examine the effects of plastic waste added into the asphalt mixture. The volumetric and performance properties combined with image analysis of the modified mixtures were obtained and compared with the control mixture. In addition, the moisture damage, resilient modulus, creep deformation and rutting were evaluated. This study also highlighted in detail the distribution of plastic particles in the final skeleton of the asphalt mixture. Based on the analysis, an enhanced dry process of mixing procedure was proposed and evaluated. Results showed that the addition of plastic particles using the conventional dry process leads to the deviation in the aggregate structure as high plastic content is added. Furthermore, the enhanced dry process developed in this study presents substantial enhancement in the asphalt performance, particularly with plastic waste that accounts for 20% of the weight of the asphalt binder.


Asphalt pavement is typically susceptible to moisture damage. However, it could be improved with the incorporation of additives or modifiers through binder modifications. The objective of the study is to assess the effect of adhesion promoters, namely PBL and M5000, onto the Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). The performance of asphalt mixture has been assessed in terms of the service characteristics, the bonding properties, and mechanical performances. The service characteristics were assessed through the Workability Index (WI) and Compaction Energy Index (CEI) to evaluate the ease of asphalt mixture during the mixing and compaction stage. The bonding properties of the modified asphalt mixtures were determined using the boiling water test and static water immersion test to signify the degree of coating after undergoing specific conditioning period and temperature. The mechanical performances of the modified asphalt mixture were evaluated via Marshall stability, semi-circular bending, and modified Lottman tests. All specimens were prepared by incorporating adhesion promoters at the dosage rates of 0.5% and 1.0% by weight of asphalt binder. From the investigation, the bonding properties significantly improved for the modified asphalt mixture compared to the control mixture. The WI of the modified asphalt mixture increased while the CEI decreased in comparison to the control specimen. This implies the workability of modified asphalt mixture is better and requires less energy to be compacted. Modified asphalt mixture generally had better mechanical performance. Therefore, it can be deduced that the asphalt mixture with adhesion promoters have better overall performance than the control mixture.


Author(s):  
Moses Akentuna ◽  
Louay N. Mohammad ◽  
Sanchit Sachdeva ◽  
Samuel B. Cooper ◽  
Samuel B. Cooper

Moisture damage of asphalt mixtures is a major distress affecting the durability of asphalt pavements. The loaded wheel tracking (LWT) test is gaining popularity in determining moisture damage because of its ability to relate laboratory performance to field performance. However, the accuracy of LWT’s “pass/fail” criteria for screening mixtures is limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the capability of the LWT test to identify moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixtures with different moisture conditioning protocols. Seven 12.5 mm asphalt mixtures with two asphalt binder types (unmodified PG 67-22 and modified PG 70-22), and three aggregate types (limestone, crushed gravel, and a semi-crushed gravel) were utilized. Asphalt binder and mixture samples were subjected to five conditioning levels, namely, a control; single freeze–thaw-; triple freeze–thaw-; MiST 3500 cycles; and MiST 7000 cycles. Frequency sweep at multiple temperatures and frequencies, and multiple stress creep recovery tests were performed to evaluate asphalt binders. LWT test was used to evaluate the asphalt mixture samples. Freeze–thaw and MiST conditioning resulted in an increase in stiffness in the asphalt binders as compared with the control. Further, freeze–thaw and MiST conditioning resulted in an increase in rut depth compared with the control asphalt mixture. The conditioning protocols evaluated were effective in exposing moisture-sensitive mixtures, which initially showed compliance with Louisiana asphalt mixture design specifications.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2630 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matheus S. Gaspar ◽  
Kamilla L. Vasconcelos ◽  
Amanda H. M. da Silva ◽  
Liedi L. B. Bernucci

Reflective cracking is a common issue with respect to rehabilitated asphalt pavements, especially when the rehabilitation is done by applying a hot-mix asphalt overlay on the existing damaged pavement. Several approaches can be adopted to delay reflective cracking. They include an increase of the overlay thickness and the use of a stress relief asphalt mixture (SRAM), which is a fine-graded, flexible, and thin asphalt interlayer. Because the efficiency of a SRAM is highly related to the properties of the asphalt binder used in the mixture, it is of interest to use a highly modified asphalt (HiMA) binder. This paper describes a field test comprising three sections at BR-116 (a heavily trafficked highway in Brazil). One of the rehabilitation strategies used for a cracked asphalt pavement was a 2.5-cm SRAM (produced with a HiMA binder) and 5-cm styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) hot-mix asphalt (HMA). The other two strategies were to apply SBS HMA overlays of different thicknesses (7.5 cm and 10.5 cm). The aim was to evaluate and compare the capability of these solutions to control reflective cracking. Rheological properties and multiple stress creep and recovery tests were performed on the asphalt binders, and the semicircular bending test was performed on the asphalt mixtures. The surface conditions were monitored, and the results for each section were compared. After a 29-month period, the section that received the interlayer had the lowest cracked area and showed better resistance than the overlays did to reflective cracking and better maintenance of the original thickness of the pavement.


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