Evaluation of lab performance of stamp sand and acrylonitrile styrene acrylate waste composites without asphalt as road surface materials

Abstract

Acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) plastic and stamp sand are both waste materials that impose a significant burden on the environment. This study investigates the potential of using stamp sand and ASA plastic composite as the pavement structure. It should be noted that this new material does not use the asphalt binder. A series of lab tests usually used for asphalt pavement materials were employed for the stamp sand and ASA plastic composite material. The high-temperature properties were analyzed by the Hamburg wheel tracking device (HWTD), while the low-temperature performance was measured by the disc-shaped compact tension (DCT) test. The tensile strength ratio (TSR) was used to determine the moisture susceptibility and the dynamic modulus was used to assess the deformation characterize under various loads and frequencies, the coefficient of permeability was estimated by the water permeability test, and the mass loss of aggregate was estimated by the Cantabro loss test. The dynamic modulus results showed that the ASA mixtures have improved high-temperature deformation resistance as compared to the asphalt mixtures. The ASA mixture with 40% sand showed higher stiffness than the ASA mixture with 30% sand. The ASA mixtures have excellent rutting resistance and moisture damage resistance. The fracture energy of the asphalt mixture is 42–77% higher than the ASA mixture. The tensile strength ratio of the ASA and asphalt mixture are all larger than 0.8 and therefore satisfy the Superpave specification. The average coefficient of permeability of the ASA mixture is 6–10 times higher than the asphalt mixture in the same air void level. The average aggregate loss percent of the ASA mixtures is 9.2–10.8 times higher than asphalt mixtures. In summary, the implementation of stamp sand and ASA plastic mixtures may be a successful solution to mitigate the environmentally harmful effects of waste plastic and stamp sand, as well as assist in offsetting the cost and negative effects of the asphalt mixtures typically used for road surfaces.