Rheological and Morphological Characterization of Modified Bitumen with Cup Lump Rubber

Pure bitumen is not suitable for heavy traffic loads;hence modifiers are used to improve the bitumen performance.Recently,cup lump rubber(CLR)has become a preferred modifier due to its outstanding performance and less cost.However,little is known about the interactions between CLR and bitumen.Thus,this study investigates the behavior of bitumen with CLR.Four percentages of CLR(2.5%,5.0%,7.5%,and 10.0%by weight of bitumen)were used to modify conventional 60/70 penetration grade bitumen.The modified bitumen was evaluated through different laboratory testing such as dynamic shear rheometer,rotational viscosity,softening point,bending beam rheometer,ductility,and elastic recovery.The testing results show that the addition of CLR increased the bitumen’s rutting resistance by 3 PG grades at high temperatures.At low pavement temperatures,the cup lump rubber modified bitumen(CMB)can withstand up to−34℃.Fourier Transform Infrared(FTIR)analysis shows that the Aromaticity index at 1600 cm^(−1) rose as the CLR percentage increased,indicating the formation of a binder with a compact structure.This is expected to improve the elasticity of bitumen throughπ-πinteractions.Atomic Force Microscopy(AFM)results showed the Catana phase increased in size and quantity at 5.0%and 7.5%CLR content.While contact angle measurement revealed that the binders are hydrophobic and tend to repel the dropped water on the bitumen surface.

Effect of Layered Double Hydroxides on Ultraviolet Aging Resistance of SBS Modified Bitumen Membrane

Layered double hydroxides （LDHs）/styrene-butadiene-styrene （SBS） eopolymer modified bitumen was prepared by melt blending. The effect of LDHs on the ultraviolet （UV） aging behavior of SBS modified bitumen was investigated. The changes of chemical structures of modified bitumen before and after UV aging were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）. The results show that LDHs obviously reduce the variation of softening point and low temperature flexibility of SBS modified bitumen under different UV radiation intensities, which indicates that the UV aging resistance performance of SBS modified bitumen is improved effectively by LDHs. Compared with SBS modified bitumen, the changes of carbonyl, sulfoxide and butadienyl of LDHs/SBS modified bitumen decrease significantly after UV aging according to FTIR analysis, demonstrating that the oxidation and degradation reactions of SBS modified bitumen were restrained effectively by adding LDHs.

Effect of Organophilic Montmorillonite on Thermal-oxidative Aging Behavior of SBS Modified Bitumen Crack Filling Material

Styrene-butadiene-styrene （SBS） modified bitumen crack filling material with organophilic montmorillonite （OCFM） was prepared by melt blending. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the interlayer spacing of organophilic montmorillonite （OMMT） in OCFM is widened and an exfoliated structure may be formed. Thermal-oxidative aging behavior of OCFM and SBS modified bitumen crack filling material （SCFM） was investigated. The experimental results indicate that the rate of thermal-oxidative aging of OCFM is much slower than that of SCFM, which can be attributed to barrier of exfoliated structure of OCFM to oxygen.

Microstructure and Properties of Desulfurized Crumb Rubber Modified Bitumen

The microstructures of general crumb rubber(CR), dynamic desulfurized crumb rubber(DDCR) and high speed agitation desulfurized crumb rubber(HSADCR) modified bitumens were investigated by a fluorescence microscope, and the physical properties of these three modified bitumens were studied.The results show that the dynamic desulfuration can improve the swelling capacity of crumb rubber in bitumen by destroying the sulfuratized bond of the crumb rubber,but the reunion of rubber particles during dynamic desulfuration also makes the swelling and the DDCR in bitumen difficult, so properties of the DDCR modified bitumen are not superior to the general crumb rubber modified bitumen.However,high speed agitation desulfuration can not only improve the swelling capacity of crumb rubber in bitumen,but also avoid the reunion of rubber particles,so some properties of bitumen can be improved by the modification of HSADCR.

Investigation of internal phases of linear SBS modified bitumen at the nanoscale using AFM PF-QNM

Currently,few studies explore the internal phases of styrene-butadiene-styrene(SBS)modified bitumen at the nanoscale,though the surface phases of SBS modified bitumen have been deeply understood through a lot of research.The present study uses the atomic force microscopy(AFM)peak force quantitative nanomechanical mode(PF-QNM)to investigate the nanomechanical properties of the interior of linear SBS modified bitumen and corresponding mastics at the nanoscale.Firstly,the suitable experimental methods for the interior of bitumen and mastics are explored.Then,the phase relationship between surfaces and interiors of linear SBS modified bitumen is determined by analyzing nanomechanical properties.On this basis,in comparison with the internal phases of base bitumen,the effect of modifiers on phases is deeply investigated.Finally,the internal phases of linear SBS modified bituminous mastics are further investigated.The results reveal that the interior of linear SBS modified bitumen only has two phases,which form in a manner like periphase and paraphase on the surface.In contrast to base bitumen,linear SBS modified bitumen does not create new phases and change the properties of original phases in the interior,but affects the proportion of A-phase and B-phase and presents the homogenization.Furthermore,due to the influence of preparation methods,only the bitumen area away from the fillers can be imaged by AFM PF-QNM.It can be found that the addition of mineral fillers also slightly changes the internal phase distribution of linear SBS modified bitumen,while the effect is less than that of fillers on base bitumen.

Evaluation of Layered Inorganic Nano-powder Modified Bitumen

Thermal oxidative and aging as an inevitable process in the practical application of road asphalt has great effect on the properties of asphalt. In this paper,the influences of short-term thermal oxidative ageing and ultraviolet radiation(UV) aging on the dynamic viscosity,penetration,softening point and rheological properties of two kinds of layered inorganic nano-powder including organo-modified montmorillonite (OMMT) and nanometer brucite (Mg(OH)2) modified asphalts were studied respectively. The rheological properties of these binders have been determined using a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) through temperatures sweep tests.The rheological and physical analysis showed the two major influences of ageing on the properties for two kinds of layered inorganic nano-powder modified bitumens. On one hand,ageing decreased the viscous behaviors of modified binders,on the other hand,ageing improved the elastic behaviors of modified binders. The performances of binders after aging depended on the combined effect between the modifier and the bitumen. Both the two modifiers resisted the aging of bitumens and the effect of OMMT was better.

Feasibility Investigation of Bitumen Properties by Blending of Coal Tar Pitch

There are numerous methods and additives available to improve the durability and quality of road bitumen. A coal tar obtained by coal coking was distilled in a laboratory into fractions of initial boiling point IBP-180℃ (gasoline-like fuel), 180℃ - 360℃ (diesel-like fuel), and >360℃ (residue or coal tar pitch). The coal tar pitch was added into road bitumen by up to 1 - 5 wt% and investigated the alteration of physical and chemical properties. The physico-mechanical properties of coal tar pitch and bitumen blends, as well as the chemical group composition, were determined using standard techniques (MNS) and the SARA method, respectively. Results of 3% coal tar pitch addition into bitumen enhanced ductility by 12.4% and softening point by 1.6℃. We found that blending with bitumen coal tar pitch as a modifier could improve bitumen properties.

Graphene sandwiched crumb rubber dispersed hot mix asphalt

The crumb rubber obtained from discarded vehicle tires and graphene oxide prepared by oxidation of graphite powder in laboratory were used to modify virgin bitumen. Four different hot mix asphalt matrices prepared using virgin bitumen, crumb rubber modified bitumen, graphene oxide modified bitumen and combination of crumb rubber-graphene oxide modified bitumen are compared. The modified bitumen matrices are characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy for structural and morphological analysis. Marshall properties along with indirect tensile test and tensile strength ratio tests were carried out to check the resistance towards cracking and moisture susceptibility of matrices. The results show that, crumb rubber and graphene oxide are completely compatible with bitumen. 9.8% crumb rubber content in crumb rubber modified bitumen hot mix asphalt exhibits the optimum result. The performance of graphene oxide modified bitumen hot mix asphalt exhibits superior performance in comparison to control mix and crumb rubber modified bitumen hot mix asphalt samples.The enhanced properties of modified bitumen hot mix asphalt with the combining effect of graphene oxide and crumb rubber, are suitable for road construction.

Environmental Concern of Using Coal Tar in Road Engineering and Its Possible Alternatives

Coal tar,a by-product from the destructive distillation of coal in coking oven,is widely used in road engineering for its excellent adhesion and fuel resistance properties,especially for pavement surface treatments in gas stations and airports. However,coal tar has a high Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (or PAHs) content,which makes it toxic. In 1985,the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has proved that coal tar is carcinogenic to humans. Research showed that Coal Tar-based Sealers (CTS) contribute to the majority of PAHs pollution in the water environment.Because of this environmental concern,CTS are not allowed in many developed countries in the USA and Europe. In contrast,coal tar is still used for road engineering in China and is even used increasingly.This paper gives a literature review on the general information and research about environmental concern of using coal tar in road engineering. Based on the review,some possible alternatives to replace coal tar are described. These alternatives include nano-clay/epoxy modified bitumen/bitumen emulsion and waterborne polyurethane/epoxy resin,which are environmental friendly. They have the potential to perform as well as CTS,and even better in some special applications.