Creep Compliance of Polymer-Modified Asphalt, Asphalt Mastic, and Hot-Mix Asphalt

Author(s):  
Ota Vacin ◽  
Jiri Stastna ◽  
Ludo Zanzotto

The possibility of using commercial rheometers for comprehensive testing of asphalt binders, asphalt mastics, and hot-mix asphalts (HMA) is explored. Samples of one polymer-modified asphalt, its mix with fine mineral filler (mastic), and one HMA prepared with the same modified asphalt as binders were tested in the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) and the bending beam rheometer (BBR). All tested materials can be characterized by their discrete relaxation and retardation spectra (under the condition of small deformations). DSR testing was performed in the plate–plate and the torsion bar geometry. From the obtained relaxation and retardation spectra, the shear compliance, J(t), was calculated and compared with the tensile creep compliance, D(t), measured in BBR (both creep and recovery experiments were run). A simple relationship between J(t) and D(t) was found for the asphalt binder and the asphalt mastic. In the case of HMA, the bulk compliance, B(t), contributes to D(t) at short and long times. Both the Boltzmann superposition principle and the time–temperature superposition principle hold very well for all tested materials at low temperatures. There are qualitative differences, in the rheological behavior, of the asphalt binder and asphalt mastic on one side and the HMA on the other. These differences can be seen in dynamic (DSR) as well as in transient (BBR) experiments.

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 191-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waheed Uddin

AbstractRutting is a primary reason of premature deterioration of asphalt highway pavements. Pavements constructed with polymer and other modifiers are showing improved performance. The virgin asphalt and modified asphalt binders and mixes used on several test sections of the I-55 highway rehabilitation project in northern Mississippi are compared. The laboratory creep compliance data for these binders were measured at low temperatures using a modified test procedure adapted for the Bending Beam Rheometer device. Dynamic Shear Rheometer was used at high service temperatures. The creep compliance data of the binder was used as an input to simulate creep compliance behavior of the mix using a micromechanical model. The field evaluation confirms the relatively poor performance of the virgin asphalt section with respect to rutting, compared to modified binder sections.


Author(s):  
Saqib Gulzar ◽  
B. Shane Underwood

Agencies have been increasing their use of polymer modified asphalt binders in recent years to address performance issues and lengthen the useful life of their pavements. When deployed these materials likely experience strain levels exceeding their linear viscoelastic (LVE) limits. The same situation exists in non-polymer modified asphalt binders as well, but the effect may be more pronounced in polymer modified systems because of their bi-phasic nature. In this study, terminally blended crumb rubber (CR-TB) modified asphalt is studied to understand and quantify the nonlinear viscoelastic response under large strains. The CR-TB binders are extensively used in pavements subjected to high vehicular loads and extreme climatic conditions; thereby, their response under large strains becomes more critical. The current standard characterization techniques are based on LVE response using small amplitude oscillatory shear rheology only and do not consider the behavior of binders under large strains. In this study, large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) rheology is used as a framework to more thoroughly investigate the complete response of the CR-TB modified asphalt binder under large strains at 30°C, 40°C, 50°C, and 60°C and at the frequencies of 0.5, 1, and 5 Hz. The LAOS response is analyzed using Fourier-transform rheology and the orthogonal stress decomposition method involving Chebyshev polynomial representation. It is found that nonlinearity manifests greatly in this study material as strain levels increase and frequencies decrease. The relative nonlinearity increases with increasing strain amplitude and is more significant towards lower end of the tested temperature range. The CR-TB binder shows strain-stiffening/softening and shear-thinning/thickening behavior depending upon a specific temperature, strain level, and frequency.


2020 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 003685042095987
Author(s):  
Ghazi G Al-Khateeb ◽  
Waleed Zeiada ◽  
Mohammed Ismail ◽  
Ahmad Shabib ◽  
Adel Tayara

Major distresses such as rutting, fatigue, and thermal cracking are facing asphalt pavement structures due to continuous heavy traffic loading and climate change. The modification of asphalt binders (one of the main components of the asphalt paving mix) has the potential to mitigate distresses through using different additives. Polymer modified asphalt (PMA) binders showed a noticeable resistance to pavement distresses as reported in previous studies. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of polymer modification on the rheological properties of asphalt binders through laboratory tests. The polymers included styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) and epolene emulsifiable (EE2) types. The 60/70 binder was used as a control for comparison. The Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) was also utilized to simulate the effect of PMA binders on the rheological properties under different climatic conditions and structural capacities. Additionally, the MEPDG was further utilized to compare the effect of asphalt binders on rheological properties using four different binder input levels. Findings of the study showed that laboratory tests experienced varying outcomes regarding the most efficient asphalt binder by means of distresses resistance. However, the MEPDG evaluation showed that the overall ranking of asphalt binders positively impacting the rheological properties was as following: (1) 4.5% EE2 PMA, (2) 4% EE2 PMA, (3) 60/70 binder, (4) 5% SBS PMA, and (5) 4% SBS PMA binders. Furthermore, statistical analysis illustrated that the effect of using different binder input levels on the performance of pavement varied relatively to the evaluated distresses. The analysis showed that using different binder input levels would affect, to a certain extent, the asphalt binder influence on rheological properties only when evaluating rutting and fatigue distresses. Therefore, it is recommended that precise asphalt binder inputs, that is, shear complex modulus (G*) and phase angle (δ) are used when designing pavement structures in regions with hot and mild climate conditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Hwan Kim ◽  
Mithil Mazumder ◽  
Moon-Sup Lee ◽  
Soon-Jae Lee

In this study, performance properties of polymer-modified asphalt (PMA) binders are evaluated depending on ground tire rubber (GTR) and styrene-isoprene-styrene (SIS). Styrene-butadiene-styrene- (SBS-) modified asphalt binder of PG 76-22 is used as a base binder to manufacture the rubberized PMA binder. The rubberized PMA binders are blended using SIS modifier. The binders were artificially short-term and long-term aged using rolling thin-film oven (RTFO) and pressure aging vessel (PAV) procedures. Superpave binder tests were conducted on the binders through rotational viscometer (RV), dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), and bending beam rheometer (BBR). Furthermore, multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) test and atomic force microscopy (AFM) microstructural analysis were performed. The results of this study indicated that (1) the viscosity properties seem to be highly dependent on GTR and SIS contents, (2) the addition of SIS is observed to have a significant effect on improving the rutting performances of rubberized PMA binders, (3) the cracking properties are considered to be improved significantly through SIS modification, and (4) in general, the rubberized PMA binders with SIS showed the best performance for rutting and cracking among all the binders used in this study.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-36
Author(s):  
Esraa J Al-mousawi ◽  
Rashaa H Al-Rubaee ◽  
Ammar A Shubber

Recently, polymer -nanocomposites were used to manufacture durable asphalt mixtures to replace the polymer modified binder, because of the remarkable properties and unique features of nanomaterials compared to conventional materials, such as their wide surface area and small dimensions, making it possible to be utilized as an additive for asphalt paving. Nanosilica particles (NS) are one of the latest minerals which likely integrate useful characteristics, such as huge surface area, good distributions, high absorption levels, high stability, and a high level of purity. Therefore, this paper is interested in studying the characteristics of nanocomposite-polymer modified asphalt. In laboratory work, a pure asphalt 60-70 penetration grade, has been modified separately with waste polypropylene polymer (WPP), and nanosillica composite polypropylene (NS/WPP) at different concentrations. As a result, two modified binders: waste polypropylene polymer- modified asphalt (WPP-MA), and nanosillica composite polypropylene modified asphalt (NSCPMA) were obtained. Traditional asphalt binder tests were performed for pure and modified binders such as penetration, ductility, flash and fire point test, softening point, and rotational viscosity. Also, storage stability test has been conducted to ensure the storage stability of binders at high temperatures. The results showed an improvement in physical properties and increase in mixing and compaction temperature due to the increase in stiffness of (NSCPMA). The results also indicated that the nanosillica composite polypropylene modified asphalt binders have good storage stability at high temperatures.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Moghtadernejad ◽  
Ehsan Barjasteh ◽  
Ren Nagata ◽  
Haia Malabeh

As the State of California continues to grow, demand for enhanced infrastructure such as roadways and highways escalates. In view of the current average highway lifespan of 15–20 years, the improvement of asphalt binders leads to material sustainability by decreasing required maintenance and increasing the lifespan of roadways. In the present investigation, enhancement of asphalt binder properties was achieved by different methods of mixing varying compositions of graphene nanoparticles with an SBS polymer and asphalt binder. Additionally, experimental evaluation and comparison of the rheological and mechanical properties of each specimen is presented. Graphene nanoparticles have attracted great curiosity in the field of highway materials due to their incredible rigidity, even in small quantities. Addition of as little as 1.0%nanoparticles in combination with polymers in an asphalt binder is expected to increase the rigidity of the material while also maintaining the beneficial polymer characteristics. Evaluation of the effect of the mixing design established that the methods for application of graphene to the polymer-modified asphalt binder are critical in the improvement of a roadway, resulting in resistance to premature aging and strain from constant road operation.


Environments ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Lim Min Khiong ◽  
Md. Safiuddin ◽  
Mohammad Abdul Mannan ◽  
Resdiansyah

This paper presents the results of a laboratory-based experimental investigation on the properties of asphalt binder and hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixes modified by locally available crumb rubber, which was used as a partial replacement of asphalt by weight. In this study, fine crumb rubber with a particle size in the range of 0.3–0.6 mm, obtained from scrap tires, was added to the asphalt binder through the wet process. Crumb rubber contents of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 19% by weight of asphalt were added to the virgin binder in order to prepare the modified asphalt binder samples, while the unmodified asphalt binder was used as the control sample. The crumb rubber modified binder samples were examined for measuring viscosity indirectly using the penetration test, and temperature resistance using the softening point test. Later, both the modified and unmodified asphalt binders were used to produce HMA mixes. Two categories of HMA mix commonly used in Malaysia—namely, AC 14 (dense-graded) and SMA 14 (gap-graded)—were produced using the modified asphalt binders containing 5%, 10%, 15%, and 19% crumb rubber. Two AC 14 and SMA 14 control mixes were also produced, incorporating the unmodified asphalt binder (0% crumb rubber). All of the AC 14 and SMA 14 asphalt mixes were examined in order to determine their volumetric properties, such as bulk density, voids in total mix (VTM), voids in mineral aggregate (VMA), and voids filled with asphalt (VFA). In addition, the Marshall stability, Marshall flow, and stiffness of all of the AC 14 and SMA 14 mixes were determined. Test results indicated that the modified asphalt binders possessed higher viscosity and temperature resistance than the unmodified asphalt binder. The viscosity and temperature resistance of the asphalt binders increased with the increase in their crumb rubber content. The increased crumb rubber content also led to improvements in the volumetric properties (bulk density, VTM, VMA, and VFA) of the AC 14 and SMA 14 mixes. In addition, the performance characteristics of the AC 14 and SMA 14 mixes—such as Marshall stability, Marshall flow, and stiffness—increased with the increase in crumb rubber content. However, the AC 14 mixes performed much better than the SMA 14 mixes. The overall research findings suggest that crumb rubber can be used to produce durable and sustainable HMA mixes, with manifold environmental benefits, for use in flexible pavements carrying the heavy traffic load of highways.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2434
Author(s):  
Laura Moretti ◽  
Nico Fabrizi ◽  
Nicola Fiore ◽  
Antonio D’Andrea

In recent years, nanotechnology has sparked an interest in nanomodification of bituminous materials to increase the viscosity of asphalt binders and improves the rutting and fatigue resistance of asphalt mixtures. This paper presents the experimental results of laboratory tests on bituminous mixtures laid on a 1052 m-long test section built in Rome, Italy. Four asphalt mixtures for wearing and binder layer were considered: two polymer modified asphalt concretes (the former modified with the additive Superplast and the latter modified with styrene–butadiene–styrene), a “hard” graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) modified asphalt concrete and a not-modified mixture. The indirect tensile strength, water sensitivity, stiffness modulus, and fatigue resistance of the mixtures were tested and compared. A statistical analysis based on the results has shown that the mixtures with GNPs have higher mechanical performances than the others: GNP could significantly improve the tested mechanical performances; further studies will be carried out to investigate its effect on rutting and skid resistance.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3073
Author(s):  
Abbas Mukhtar Adnan ◽  
Chaofeng Lü ◽  
Xue Luo ◽  
Jinchang Wang

This study has investigated the impact of graphene oxide (GO) in enhancing the performance properties of an asphalt binder. The control asphalt binder (60/70 PEN) was blended with GO in contents of 0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, and 2.5%. The permanent deformation behavior of the modified asphalt binders was evaluated based on the zero shear viscosity (ZSV) parameter through a steady shear test approach. Superpave fatigue test and the linear amplitude sweep (LAS) method were used to evaluate the fatigue behavior of the binders. A bending beam rheometer (BBR) test was conducted to evaluate the low-temperature cracking behavior. Furthermore, the storage stability of the binders was investigated using a separation test. The results of the ZSV test showed that GO considerably enhanced the steady shear viscosity and ZSV value, showing a significant contribution of the GO to the deformation resistance; moreover, GO modification changed the asphalt binder’s behavior from Newtonian to shear-thinning flow. A notable improvement in fatigue life was observed with the addition of GO to the binder based on the LAS test results and Superpave fatigue parameter. The BBR test results revealed that compared to the control asphalt, the GO-modified binders showed lower creep stiffness (S) and higher creep rate (m-value), indicating increased cracking resistance at low temperatures. Finally, the GO-modified asphalt binders exhibited good storage stability under high temperatures.


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