Interfacial Bionic Design and Performance Evaluation of Polyacrylonitrile Fiber@SBS Modified Binder

Abstract

AbstractThe mechanical properties of fiber composites are greatly affected by the interfacial interactions between the fibers and matrix, and hence the study of interfacial properties becomes critical. This study demonstrates a simple and effective interfacial modification process using polydopamine (PDA) coating with ZnO nanorods to construct a multi‐scale bionic structure on the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber, which is conducive to increasing the bonding area and enhancing the load transfer, thus boosting the mechanical properties of the modified fiber‐incorporated asphalt binder. The cone penetration test and thermogravimetric analysis show that the octopus‐inspired multiscale PAN fiber (OIM‐PAN) composite styrene butadiene styrene modified binder (SBS/MB) has better shear strength and thermal stability. Dynamic shear rheometer test shows that the deformation resistance and viscoelastic properties of the fiber composite SBS/MB are enhanced compared with SBS/MB, and the OIM‐PAN composite SBS/MB (OIM‐PAN@SBS/MB) exhibits the best deformation resistance and viscoelastic properties. Thus, it can be concluded that this interfacial modification process can significantly improve the mechanical properties of fiber–asphalt composites by introducing a third phase between the fiber and asphalt interface to achieve functionally graded material properties and enhance the load transfer between the interfaces for large‐scale applications in road engineering and construction sites.