Abstract
High production costs and poor storage stability have become important constraints in the manufacture of modified asphalt binder. To simplify the production process and reduce the production cost, amorphous poly alpha olefin (APAO) and polyphosphoric acid (PPA) were applied to prepare highly stable modified asphalt binder. The influence of APAO/PPA on the temperature sensitivity, rheological property, storage stability, compatibility and microstructure of neat binder were studied by rotational viscosity (RV), dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), bending beam rheometer (BBR) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results show that the incorporation of APAO/PPA reduced the temperature sensitivity of neat binder. The combined effect of APAO/PPA contributed to the improvement in deformation resistance, which was evidenced by the increase in failure temperature and percent recovery. However, the compound modification of APAO/PPA decreased the binder’s low-temperature performance. APAO strengthened the fatigue resistance of the binder, while PPA reduced the anti-fatigue performance. Composite modified asphalt binder with superior storage stability could be prepared, which was confirmed by the desired Cole–Cole plots and fluorescence imaging. Furthermore, chemical and physical reactions occurred during the APAO/PPA modification process. Overall, 2 wt.% (weight percentage) APAO and 1.5 wt.% PPA are recommended for the production of modified asphalt binder with remarkable rheological performance and storage stability.
Highlights
Asphalt pavement has become the main expressway pavement structure in China due to its characteristics of superior mechanical strength, low noise, driving safety and ease of mechanized construction
This indicates that when alpha olefin (APAO) concentration increases by 6 wt.%, the reduction in penetration decreases with the increase in polyphosphoric acid (PPA) content
This shows that the increment in the softening point increases with increases in PPA content when the APAO increases by 6 wt.%
Summary
Asphalt pavement has become the main expressway pavement structure in China due to its characteristics of superior mechanical strength, low noise, driving safety and ease of mechanized construction. A variety of pavement stresses such as ruts, cracks, loosening and water damage have emerged due to the rapid increase in heavy traffic and the fluctuations caused by extreme climate To resolve these issues, researchers have adopted various methods to improve the performance and longevity of asphalt pavement. Thermoplastic elastomers, styrene–butadiene– styrene (SBS), represent the most successful asphalt modifiers to date Such modifiers can effectively enhance the resistance of asphalt binder against rutting, fatigue cracking and low-temperature cracking. The main drawback of these polymers is their partial miscibility with asphalt binder, which leads to poor storage stability of polymer modified binder Plastomers, such as polyethylene (PE) and ethylene–vinyl–acetate (EVA), can significantly improve the rutting resistance of binder, but the improvement of lowtemperature anti-cracking properties is limited. To reduce the production cost without compromising on the properties of modified asphalt binder, the development of new types of modifiers to replace colloid mills and stabilizers and allow for lower processing temperatures and simplified production processes is of significant research interest in the field
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