The Influence of Material Related Parameters on the Mechanical Properties of Foamed Asphalt Mix

By indirect tensile strength （ITS） test and unconfined compressive strength （UCS） test, the influence of various material related parameters, including asphalt foamability, aggregate temperature, mixing moisture content （MMC） and foamed asphalt （FA） content, on the mechanical properties of FA mixes was studied. The results indicated that both asphalt foamability and aggregate temperature greatly affected ITS of FA mixes. Too low aggregate temperature was unfavorable for mechanical properties of FA mixes. Foamed index alone was unfit for the evaluation of asphalt foamability. Compared with half-life, expansion ratio had more prominent influence on ITS of FA mixes. MMC had significant impact on the mechanical properties of FA mixes and should be optimized by trial and test in FA mix design. The mechanical properties of FA mix were sensitive to the change of FA content. Compared with the ITS determined with standard Marshall specimens, both the ITS and UCS determined with static compressed specimens by 15 cm diameter were more effective in terms of choosing the optimal asphalt content for FA mixes.

Ethanol based foamed asphalt as potential alternative for low emission asphalt technology

Foamed asphalt typically relies on water as a foaming agent because water becomes gaseous at elevated temperatures, generating numerous tiny bubbles in the asphalt and causing spontaneous foaming. In this study, ethanol was used as a potential alternative to water as a foaming agent. Ethanol is expected to be a physical blowing agent in the same manner as water, except it requires less energy to foam due to its 78 ℃ boiling point. This study compares the performance of water and ethanol as foaming agents through the measurements of rotational viscosity, the reduction in temperature during foaming, and volatile loss. The ethanol-foamed asphalt binders were prepared at 80 ~C and 100 ~C, while the water-foamed asphalt binders were prepared at 100 ~C and 120 ~＇C. Additionally, the rolling thin film oven （RTFO） was used to generate short-term aging of the foamed asphalt binders. A rotational viscometer was used to determine the viscosity of the asphalt binders at 80 ~C, 100 ~C, 120 ~C, 140 ~C, and 160 ~C. Overall, ethanol can function in the same manner as water but requires less energy to foam. It is proven based on the smaller drop in temperature of the asphalt binder foamed using ethanol compared with that prepared with water. This is due to the lower latent heat capacity of ethanol, which requires less energy to vaporize compared with water. Through the rotational viscometer test, ethanol performs better in lowering the viscosity of asphalt binders, which is essential in allowing produc- tion processes at low temperatures, as well as a better workability and aggregate coating. Ethanol can be expelled from the foamed asphalt binders at a higher rate due to its lower boiling point and latent heat.

A review of the development of asphalt foaming technology

To comprehensively assess the current state-of-art in asphalt foaming technology, the following four key aspectshave been reviewed systematically: foaming principles, test methods, evaluation indicators, and influencing factors.Key findings reveal that asphalt foaming was primarily driven by the vaporization of water, with deteriorationprocesses including bubble collapse and liquid film drainage. However, the current understanding of asphaltfoaming principles remains limited, primarily due to difficulties in capturing and precisely measuring its microscopic behaviors during asphalt foaming process. Volume changes provided an intuitive means to evaluate theexpansion capacity of asphalt and its foaming stability. Bubble evolution characteristics of foamed asphalt offeredpromising insights into its foaming performance. Traditional ruler and stopwatch-based assessments were beingsuperseded by automated techniques like laser and ultrasonic ranging. Nevertheless, the current measuringequipment still lacks the capability to comprehensively evaluate the foaming effect of asphalt across various dimensions. Asphalt temperature and foaming water consumption significantly affected asphalt foaming performance, and the inclusion of foaming agents typically led to a notable increase in the half life of foamed asphalt.However, the interaction between foaming agents and asphalt, as well as the underlying mechanisms affecting thefoaming effect, are still unclear and require further exploration. Future research should primarily focus on thecorrelation between asphalt foaming effect and mixture performance, aiming to guide the practical engineeringapplication of foamed asphalt mixtures and enlarge the advantages of such low-emission and sustainable mixtures.