Publication: Characterization of rubberized asphalt binders containing tough fix hyper used in asphalt mixture and crack sealant
Date
2020-08-01
Authors
Poovaneshvaran, Sharvin
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Abstract
Application of conventional asphalt binder has certain limitations due to its rheological weakness. Under severe weather condition and excessively high traffic loadings, application of conventional asphalt binder in asphalt pavement can cause deformation under high temperature, premature cracking, and high temperature susceptibility. This had sparked the interest of researchers to incorporate polymers in asphalt binder in order to improve the limitations of conventional asphalt binder. The primary intention of this research is to produce rubberized asphalt binder with the incorporation of Tough Fix Hyper additive. The modified asphalt binder was evaluated for the purpose of pavement construction and road maintenance. This research is divided into three different stages based on evaluated material. The first stage will mainly focus on the assessment of rheological and physico-chemical properties of asphalt binder produced via wet process. While the second stage emphasis predominantly on the mechanical properties and qualitative assessments of asphalt mixture. Finally, the third stage focus on the performance evaluation of crack sealant material. Also, the usage of rubberized asphalt mixture towards environment was addressed via toxicity characterization leaching procedure. The results of rheological properties indicate that crumb rubber, natural rubber latex and Tough Fix Hyper has significant effect on the characteristics of asphalt binder. The addition of rubber modifiers and Tough Fix Hyper enhanced the rheological behavior of asphalt binder which is essential in producing high grade asphalt pavement. Moreover, the modified asphalt mixture’s performance test exhibited better stiffness and strength properties, good resistance to rutting, fracture and moisture damage. The sealant material performance tests indicated that the rubberized asphalt sealant material is capable of overcoming the vertical and horizontal movement by attaining good tensile strength and shear strength. The research findings also proved that there is no tendency for heavy metal to leach and pollute the environment. In conclusion, the crumb rubber and natural rubber latex modified asphalt binder with the incorporation of Tough Fix Hyper could produce high-grade asphalt binder and asphalt mixture, which are suitable to be used as pavement construction and road maintenance material.