Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-2023

Department

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

Abstract

The modification of asphalt binder with natural rubber latex (NR) significantly improves the rutting and fatigue resistance of asphalt mixtures. However, NR-modified binder is prone to low workability and wettability due to its high viscosity. Therefore, this research focuses on examining the influences of silane and wax-based additives on the wettability of natural rubber-modified binders and the binder-aggregates adhesion performances. In this study, experimental and analytical approaches were used. The contact angles of asphalt binder were measured using a goniometer through the sessile drop method with three solvents: deionised water, formamide, and glycerol. The C++ algorithm was adopted to compute the surface free energy (SFE) elements of the asphalt binder. Analytical methods were employed to analyse the results based on the Young-Dupre equation, followed by linear regression to establish a correlation between the compatibility ratio (CR) and the SFE components. The results inferred that modified asphalt binders with additives possessed improved moisture resistance, wherein dry work adhesion values were less than 210 mJ/m2 under granite interfaces, whereas the limestone interface exhibited higher dry adhesion values of 340 mJ/m2 and below. Similar performance results were observed under wet adhesion conditions; with granite wet adhesive values observed below 120 mJ/m2, while limestone wet adhesion values were ascertained below 180 mJ/m2 for all tested samples and conditions. According to the spread–ability coefficient results, the limestone interface has greater spread-ability than granite interfaces. Meanwhile, compatibility ratio values indicated better compatibility of 1.9 or higher for tested samples under granite interfaces, whereas compatibility values of 1.7 and below were observed under limestone interfaces. Among the SFE components studied for correlation with CR, the acidic SFE component demonstrated excellent correlations (with R2 values greater than 0.91) under all ageing conditions. An inclusion of micro-level additive enhanced binder adhesion properties, resulting in a more resilient asphalt pavement.

Publisher's Statement

© 2023 The Authors. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jreng.2023.02.001

Publication Title

Journal of Road Engineering

Version

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