Abstract
Nowadays, in order to improve asphalt pavement performance and durability and reduce environmental pollution caused by hydrocarbon materials, many researchers are studying different ways of modifying asphalt concrete (AC) and finding alternative paving materials to extend the service life of pavements. One of the successful materials used in the modification of AC is fibers. Different types of fibers have been reinforced in AC mixtures and improvements have been observed. This research studies the performance of glass wool fibers reinforced in a dense-graded asphalt mixture. Generally, glass fibers are known to have excellent mechanical properties such as high tensile modulus, 100% elastic recovery and a very high tolerance to heat. Glass wool fibers are commonly used as a thermal insulation material. In this research, to evaluate the performance of glass wool fibers in AC, laboratory tests, the Marshall mix design test, indirect tensile strength (IDT), tensile strength ratio (TSR) and the Kim test were conducted to determine a proper mix design, tensile properties, moisture susceptibility, rutting and fatigue behaviors. Results show that the addition of glass wool fibers does affect the properties of AC mixtures. The use of glass wool fibers shows a positive consistence result, in which it improved the moisture susceptibility and rutting resistance of the AC. Additionally, results show that the addition of fiber increased tensile strength and toughness which indicates that fibers have a potential to resist distresses that occur on a surface of the road as a result of heavy traffic loading. The overall results show that the addition of glass wool fibers in AC mixtures is beneficial in improving properties of AC pavements.
Highlights
Asphalt concrete (AC), known as hot-mix asphalt (HMA), is a combination of asphalt binder and aggregates mixed together at a high temperature
Optimum Asphalt Content (OAC) is the amount of asphalt binder in terms of volume percentage, required to achieve the 4 (OAC)
OAC is the amount of asphalt binder in terms of volume percentage, required to achieve the 4 ± 0.5% volume of air voids
Summary
Asphalt concrete (AC), known as hot-mix asphalt (HMA), is a combination of asphalt binder and aggregates mixed together at a high temperature. The AC is placed and compacted on the road while still hot [1]. After being applied to a road, AC mixtures tend to have many distresses such as cracking, rutting (permanent deformation), stripping (separation of aggregates from the AC mixture) and potholes. These distresses are caused by heavy traffic loading and harsh environment or weather conditions AC can be designed to form different types of mixtures depending on what the designer wants to achieve in terms of satisfactory performance over traffic and climate conditions of the designated region and durability of a pavement structure throughout the whole designed life expectancy [3,4].
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