Abstract
Asphalt concretes are materials used worldwide. It is well-known that in such materials the minor component, the bitumen, plays the most important role since it binds the high fraction (>95%) of inorganic macrometer-sized particles ensuring a coherent material fit for uses in road pavement. Additives can be used to increase the overall rheological properties, with high benefits in terms of resistance to mechanical stress and to ageing. Among these, nanoparticles have recently been considered as very effective additives in increasing the overall performance, increasing the viscosity, the rutting parameter and the recovery from deformation. However, they are expensive, so a delicate equilibrium between costs and benefits must be found for large-scale uses. In this framework, we furnish our critical analysis of the state-of-the art technologies used for improving the bitumen performances by means of nanoparticles with an eye to eventual added-values (like anti-oxidant effect, antistripping properties, or UV radiation screening which avoids radiation-induced ageing…). We will critically consider the costs involved in their use and we will give our opinion about vanguard techniques which can be fit for the analysis of nanoparticles-containing bitumens and asphalts. Interesting perspectives will be also given for future research and applications.
Highlights
CNR-ISMN, National Research Council—Institute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials, Via Salaria km 29.300, 00015 Monterotondo Stazione (RM), Italy
The work will follow this logical scheme: we first show (Sections 2 and 3) the peculiar properties of bitumens and how they can be improved by the use of nanoparticles and why; we present the problems to be faced: the issue of nanoparticle stabilization and the cost involved
Given the extreme sensitivity of the aggregation pattern to the presence of other amphiphiles, our opinion is that amphiphiles can be considered as one of the most promising and effective classes of substances which can be used for improving the properties of bitumens and asphalts
Summary
This work is far from being a review of the state-of-the art technologies, methods and materials used for using nanoparticles-containing bitumens and asphalts. It is our conviction that literature is quite rich in experimental works related to the use of nanoparticles in bitumens, but it is still relatively poor in works critically commenting the state-of-the art and offering different points of view especially on the basis of the fascinating fields of molecular physics and the physics of complex systems. We hope that this contribution could tickle researchers’ curiosity and stimulate their imagination in the piloted design of material for road pavements with ever-increasing performances
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