Mechanical performance of asphalt mixture composed of asphalt binder modified with sunflower oil

Abstract

Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) refers to a variety of asphalt mixtures produced at lower temperatures than those conventionally used to produce hot mixture asphalt. These reductions in the production temperatures provide social, economic, and environmental gains. This study aimed to investigate the mechanical properties of asphalt mixtures composed of asphalt binders modified with sunflower oil at the addition contents of 1%, 2%, and 3%. Indirect tensile strength, resilient modulus, water sensitivity, dynamic modulus, rutting resistance, and fatigue life of the asphalt mixtures were evaluated. Results showed that the mechanical performance of asphalt mixtures composed of oil-modified asphalt binder decreased compared to that of the mixture with neat asphalt binder, even though all of them are suitable for application in surface courses according to the current technical requirements for asphalt concretes. However, asphalt mixtures with sunflower oil-modified binders presented enhances in adhesion, which indicates less susceptibility to moisture than their equivalent non-modified.