Abstract
The high and low-temperature performance of five hydraulic bitumen binders was evaluated using the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) test, infrared spectrum test and direct tensile (DT) test. These hydraulic bitumen binders were respectively applied for several pumped storage power stations (PSPS) projects that were constructed or under construction. In order to relate the bitumen performance to the mixture performance, the slope flow test, three-point bending test and thermal stress restrained specimen test were carried out on hydraulic asphalt mixtures. The test results indicated the DSR rheological master curves can well distinguish the difference of each bitumen binder as well as the effect of polymer modification. Phase angle master curves, black diagrams and infrared spectra all indicated that several penetration-grade hydraulic bitumen binders were not virgin bitumen binders but were modified with relatively lower SBS polymer content when compared with traditional SBS-modified bitumen. When selecting the commonly used Karamay SG70 hydraulic bitumen as a reference, the normal SBS-modified bitumen was superior to other bitumen in terms of low- and high-temperature performance. Several slightly SBS-modified bitumen binders did not always show consistent results, which indicated that slightly modified bitumen may not really have the desired performance as expected. Therefore, SBS-modified bitumen will be more promising when dealing with extremely low or high temperatures. Bitumen performance was well compared with the mixture performance by using the bitumen creep, relaxation and tensile failure strain corresponding to the asphalt concrete slope flow, the maximum bending strain and the failure temperature, respectively. Compared with the traditional penetration, softening point and ductility test, it indicated that the DSR rheological test, creep test, direct tensile test and stress relaxation test can be used as more powerful tools for the characterization and optimization of hydraulic bitumen binders.
Highlights
The leveling layer is made by open-graded asphalt concrete with an air void content between 10% and 15%, and the impermeable layer is made by dense-graded asphalt concrete with an air void content below 3%, while the confining/sealing layer is made using asphalt mastic that usually consists of 35% bitumen and 65% filler by weight
As indicated by the master curve of the phase angle and the black diagram, it was deduced that there may be the existence of polymer in the Jingbo SG70 bitumen, Jurong SG90 bitumen and Liaohe SG90 bitumen
It can be concluded that the Jingbo SG70 bitumen, Jurong SG90 bitumen and Liaohe SG90 bitumen were slightly modified by small amount of SBS polymer
Summary
China is currently striving to meet a grand goal: to peak its carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. For this reason, the construction of pumped storage power stations (PSPSs) in China has entered a stage of rapid development to improve and adjust the state power source structure. A simple panel structure consisting of an asphalt concrete leveling layer with a thickness of 100 mm, an asphalt concrete impermeable layer with a thickness of 100 mm and an asphalt mastic sealing layer with a thickness of 2 mm is mainly applied in China for the consideration of cost and the ease of construction. The selection of raw material and the mix design of the dense-graded asphalt concrete become very important, since they are closely related to the above functions and the performance of the impermeable layer [5,6]
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