Polymer Modification of Paving Asphalt Binders

• Polymer modification of asphalt binders has become a more accepted method for addressing pavement distresses. The heavier vehicle loads, higher traffic volumes and increased tire pressures have forced user agencies to explore polymer modification for asphalt pavement applications. • The compatibility between the asphalt and polymer depends on many factors. The most significant of these, based on microscopy, are the asphalt crude source, polymer microstructure and the thermal/mechanical history of the polymer-modified asphalt binder. • Classical methods and methods derived specifically for measuring the effect of polymers in the asphalt have poor correlation to mixture performance. The tests also seem to be specific to the different polymers tested. The test conditions make it difficult to extract basic information about the binder's mechanical properties. • Considerable work has been done on the rheology of asphalt and polymer-modified asphalt binders over a wide range of temperatures and rates of loading. Time-temperature superposition has been used to describe the effect of rate of loading on the complex shear modulus (G*) of both polymer modified and unmodified asphalt binders. The addition of polymers has been found to dramatically change the properties at high temperatures or low rates of loading. This has been correlated with varying degrees of success to permanent deformation in the asphalt mixture. • The bending beam rheometer and the direct tension test are ideally suited for measuring the low temperature properties of polymer-modified asphalt binders. Good correlation was found with bending beam results and the fracture temperature of the mixture using the TSRST method. Failure strains, measured for polymer-modified asphalt binders with the direct tension test, were up to ten times greater than that observed for unmodified binders. Polymer-modifiers generally decreased the fracture temperature of the mixture by 6–10°C. • Polymer modifiers for asphalt binders which contain a large percentage of butadiene (50% or greater), exhibit improved low temperature properties. This was observed as a decreased Tg for a polybutadiene modified asphalt measured using dynamic mechanical analysis. Also direct tension results for SB (50% butadiene) -modified asphalt binders showed a marked increase in low temperature failure strains. • The performance-based specifications (SHRP) show good correlation with mixture performance. The best correlations were observed between the binder's Theological properties and the load-associated fatigue and low-temperature thermal cracking resistance. For permanent deformation, it was observed that the aggregate plays a significant role in the resulting rutting. Further testing and field studies are required to validate these laboratory measurements. • Asphalt-rubber mixtures have been shown to have useful properties with respect to distresses observed in asphalt concrete pavements. Most notably a large increase in viscosity and improved low-temperature cracking resistance have been measured. Only a limited body of test results exists and further testing is required to fully understand the contribution of asphalt-rubber to the mixture's performance.