TY - GEN
T1 - Laboratory Performance of Polymer-Modified Asphalt Binders and Mixtures at Low Temperature
AU - Solaimanian, Mansour
AU - Tavassoti, Pejoohan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Canadian Society for Civil Engineering 2024.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - A research study was undertaken to investigate the impact of Vinyl Acetate Ethylene (VAE) copolymer as an asphalt binder modifier with and without combination with Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) copolymer. SBS has been used for decades to enhance asphalt binder performance, but the use of VAE as an asphalt modifier is not that old. The overall goal of this project was to determine the level of improvement achieved in the engineering properties of asphalt binder and mixture at low temperatures (well below freezing temperatures) due to incorporation of VAE/SBS copolymers. Low-temperature rheological properties of the modified binders as well as low-temperature resistance of the corresponding asphalt concrete mixtures were evaluated. Three different types of VAE and one type of SBS were used and blended at different levels into the base neat binder along with the designated dosages of VAE. Polymer modification was carried out in the lab such that the total modifier content (SBS plus VAE) would be 4.5% of the mass of the binder blend. The neat base binder used in this study was a PG 64-22. There was no change in the binder nominal low-temperature grade due to the VAE modifications, but the binders modified with higher VAE content exhibited an improvement because of lower stress sensitivity. The results also suggested that an advantage of replacing a portion of SBS with VAE could be notably recognized at the low temperatures in terms of stress relaxation. Replacing part of SBS with VAE, at 25% or more of the total modifier, expedited stress relaxation (i.e., resulted in higher m-value from Bending Beam Rheometer). Indirect tensile strength (IDT) was conducted at − 20 and − 10 °C to evaluate the cracking potential of the VAE-SBS polymer-modified asphalt mixtures at low temperatures. The results indicated that while a significant difference did not exist in the indirect tensile strength of the polymer-modified mixes versus the control mix, there was an improvement with respect to fracture toughness of the VAE-modified asphalt mixtures. This finding is in line with the results from the binder characterization, indicating improved resistance to low-temperature cracking due to usage of VAE.
AB - A research study was undertaken to investigate the impact of Vinyl Acetate Ethylene (VAE) copolymer as an asphalt binder modifier with and without combination with Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) copolymer. SBS has been used for decades to enhance asphalt binder performance, but the use of VAE as an asphalt modifier is not that old. The overall goal of this project was to determine the level of improvement achieved in the engineering properties of asphalt binder and mixture at low temperatures (well below freezing temperatures) due to incorporation of VAE/SBS copolymers. Low-temperature rheological properties of the modified binders as well as low-temperature resistance of the corresponding asphalt concrete mixtures were evaluated. Three different types of VAE and one type of SBS were used and blended at different levels into the base neat binder along with the designated dosages of VAE. Polymer modification was carried out in the lab such that the total modifier content (SBS plus VAE) would be 4.5% of the mass of the binder blend. The neat base binder used in this study was a PG 64-22. There was no change in the binder nominal low-temperature grade due to the VAE modifications, but the binders modified with higher VAE content exhibited an improvement because of lower stress sensitivity. The results also suggested that an advantage of replacing a portion of SBS with VAE could be notably recognized at the low temperatures in terms of stress relaxation. Replacing part of SBS with VAE, at 25% or more of the total modifier, expedited stress relaxation (i.e., resulted in higher m-value from Bending Beam Rheometer). Indirect tensile strength (IDT) was conducted at − 20 and − 10 °C to evaluate the cracking potential of the VAE-SBS polymer-modified asphalt mixtures at low temperatures. The results indicated that while a significant difference did not exist in the indirect tensile strength of the polymer-modified mixes versus the control mix, there was an improvement with respect to fracture toughness of the VAE-modified asphalt mixtures. This finding is in line with the results from the binder characterization, indicating improved resistance to low-temperature cracking due to usage of VAE.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85205130770
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85205130770#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-031-61511-5_12
DO - 10.1007/978-3-031-61511-5_12
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85205130770
SN - 9783031615108
T3 - Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering
SP - 143
EP - 155
BT - Proceedings of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Annual Conference 2023 - Materials Track
A2 - Desjardins, Serge
A2 - Poitras, Gérard J.
A2 - Alam, M. Shahria
A2 - Sanchez-Castillo, Xiomara
PB - Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
T2 - Canadian Society of Civil Engineering Annual Conference, CSCE 2023
Y2 - 24 May 2023 through 27 May 2023
ER -