Effect of basalt fiber on properties of asphalt and asphalt mixture

Abstract

Asphalt mixture is the surface material of flexible pavement and semi-rigid pavement. It directly bears the influence of climate conditions and traffic load, and is prone to aging and fatigue damage. Therefore, using reinforcing agent to improve the performance of asphalt mixture is the long-term goal of researchers.This paper aims to study the effect of basalt fiber on asphalt viscosity and mechanical properties of asphalt mixture. Firstly, by testing the basic properties of asphalt binder with different fiber content, the viscosity characteristics of fiber + asphalt composites are analyzed by using the modified Einstein viscosity equation. The research shows that basalt fiber has obvious toughening effect on asphalt, and the penetration and softening point indexes are suitable to evaluate the viscosity properties of fiber + asphalt composites.Secondly, the effects of different fiber content on the water stability and splitting tensile strength of asphalt mixture are analyzed. The results show that the maximum content of basalt fiber should not be greater than 0.4%; With the increase of fiber content, the splitting strength of asphalt mixture increases, but the increase is not obvious when the content is > 0.30%, while the stiffness modulus continues to increase, indicating that the deformation resistance of asphalt mixture is enhanced after adding fiber. Based on the micromechanics theory of composite materials, the basic principle of basalt mineral fiber improving the strength performance of asphalt mixture is explained. The research shows that basalt mineral fiber can significantly improve the performance of asphalt mixture.