Effect of fiber characteristic parameters on the high and low temperature rheological properties of basalt fiber modified asphalt mortar

Abstract

Fiber has an important influence on the performance of asphalt materials. However, the effect of fiber characteristic parameters (length, type, etc.) on the function of asphalt mortar is still lack of understanding. Therefore, a systematical experimental plan was conducted to evaluate the effects of the selected parameters of filler-binder ratio, fiber type, fiber content and fiber length on the rheological properties of asphalt mortar, including five filler-binder ratios (0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4), four fiber types (three chopped basalt fibers with different coating agents named A, B and C and one flocculent basalt fiber), five fiber contents (1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%) and three fiber lengths (6 mm, 9 mm, 15 mm). Then, Dynamic Shear Rheological (DSR) tests and Bending Beam Rheological (BBR) tests were employed to evaluate the rheological behavior of each asphalt mortar. The corresponding reinforcing mechanism was subsequently analyzed by Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) test. The results show that basalt fiber can obviously enhance the high-temperature rheological properties of asphalt mortars, while strengthen the stress dissipating ability at low temperatures to some extent. Besides, the fiber type, fiber content and fiber length all impact the rheological properties of asphalt mortars. The asphalt mortars with type A basalt fiber present the superior rheological performance at both high and low temperature, with the optimum fiber content of 2% and fiber length of 9 mm, respectively. The test results of ESEM reveals that basalt fiber shows spatial distribution in asphalt mortar, presenting the function of stabilization and reinforcement.