Polymer modified bitumen

Basic Properties of BITUMEN:

Bitumen is so useful in the road making and road maintenance industries because of its basic
thermoplastic nature, i.e. it is stiff/solid when cold and liquid when hot, (well with penetration
grade bitumens anyway).
(The modifying polymers used in bitumen are also thermoplastic in nature.)
The basic properties of bitumens can be modified by the addition of flux oils or volatile oils to
produce bitumens of various grades.These grades are specified by their viscosity, (penetration),
and their softening point, this information, along with other physical characteristics is specified
in,BS EN 12591 : 2000 : Bitumen and bituminous binders - Specification for paving grade
bitumens This standard superseded BS 3690:Part 1, which is still often referred to.
The above ways of altering the characteristics of bitumen are really ways of decreasing the
stiffness of the binder and increasing the workability of bituminous mixtures at lower
temperatures, e.g. hand-lay work.Of course penetration grade bitumens modified with flux oils or
volatile oils will have a lower performance in use. It is a good policy to always try and use the
highest/stiffest grade of bitumen in a particular mix consistent with being able to lay and compact
it efficiently.

Some bitumen may require modifiers, such as polymers, to meet low and high
temperature requirements. Although modifiers may affect many properties, the majority of
modifiers attempt to decrease the temperature dependency and oxidation hardening of bitumen
and asphalt mixtures.

Polymers used for bitumen modification

Polymers used for bitumen modification are long chained hydrocarbon molecules that enhance
the properties of neat bitumen. Depending on the basic polymer units (monomers) used, a wide
range of properties can be achieved. It is possible to categorize polymers in a number of ways,
but for engineering purposes they are conveniently described as having glassy (stiffness) or

rubbery (elastomeric) properties. Often this is termed plastomeric or elastomeric. Plastomers

will deform but will not return to their original dimensions when the load is released. Elastomers
will deform and return to their original dimensions when the load is released, however, this is
very dependent on conditions such as temperature, rate of loading and strain level.
As the demands of a modern road system have, in some areas, exceeded the capacity of
conventional bituminous materials, polymer additives are a means by which pavement
performance may be enhanced.
The most commonly used polymers to manufacture polymer modified bitumen are:
styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) block copolymers (elastomeric)
synthetic styrene-butadiene-rubber (SBR) latex (elastomeric)
ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA) block copolymers (plastomeric)
natural rubber latex (elastomeric)
atactic polypropylene (APP) (plastomeric)
high molecular weight waxes from the Fischer-Tropsch process (mainly as warm asphalt
additives)

POLYMERS
Thermoplastic

Rubbers,

(TR's)

This may be regarded as a group name / description for a number of polymers/copolymers used in
the
modification
of
bitumen.
A copolymer is a polymer that has more than one type of molecule incorporated in the polymer.
These polymers are made up of many thousands of individual monomers/molecules built up into
chains by the various polymerisation processes developed by the large chemical industries.
Styrene

Butadiene

Styrene,

(SBS)

This
is
a
thermoplastic
rubber.
SBS is a copolymer that you will come across in bitumen modification, it was originally developed
for use in the production of tyres and the soles of shoes, but is suitable for the modification of
bitumen.
Ethylene

Vinyl

Acetate,

(EVA)

This is not regarded as part of the thermoplastic rubber group but is still thermoplastic in its
nature.
One of the uses for this type of polymer are the "hot melt" glues, the sticks of which you may be
familiar
with
in
"D.I.Y"
hot
melt
adhesive
guns.
The most common grade of EVA for bitumen modification, for road pavement materials, is the
classification
"150/19".
This classification means it has a melt flow index of 150 and a vinyl acetate content of 19%, how
much you include in the bitumen to be modified for optimum benefit can be debatable, but 5% by
weight
is
a
commonly
quoted
figure.

EVA modified mixes have been around for some time now, I can remember them being used 25
years ago, and at that time EVA incorporation was claimed to make to make HRA wearing course
more
workable
in
cold
weather.
In fact EVA was being added to 70 pen binder to produce a wearing course asphalt which indeed
was
much
more
workable
in
cold
conditions.
The theory was good, because at higher mix temperatures the EVA does not increase the stiffness
of the mix but at lower temperatures the EVA polymer recombines to increase the stiffness of the
asphalt
above
that
expected
from
a
70pen.
bitumen.
But, it did cause all kinds of problems with rolling, one of the complications being chippings
"lost" in the mat due to the initial reduced stiffness of the material, the other being differential
cooling so that in some areas of the laid bituminous mat the EVA had recombined and in other
areas
it
had
not.
The differing rates of cooling produced different levels of stiffness in the mat and this in turn has
been known to cause "tearing" in the mat whilst rolling

Out of this list, the most common polymer for bitumen modification is
styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer.

Polymer modified bitumen manufacturing

There are many types of manufacturing configurations to make polymer-modified bitumens
(PmB). Manufacturing may be done at high or low shear, on site, or in a factory. The main
stages of manufacturing require the following procedures:

Metering of polymer, bitumen, and additives

Wetting of the polymer by the bitumen/additive mix
Dispersion of the polymer
Allowance for any interaction (reaction) of the polymer with the bitumen
Storage and transportation

Most of these are mechanical issues and are achieved by relatively simple techniques. The most
important steps in the manufacturing process are dispersion and reaction. This is what
determines the structure (i.e., morphology) of the final binder and hence its properties. These
steps also determine the level of polymer required to achieve the desired results. Compatible
systems usually have superior rheological, aging, and stability properties to those of
incompatible systems at the same polymer level.

Performance of polymer modified bitumen

Polymer modified bitumen have the ability to offer improved performance over conventional,
non modified bituminous binders, but are economical considerations should be normally taken to
ensure their higher price (compared to non modified binders).

Benefits that may be derived from bitumen modification include:

improved consistency,
reduced temperature susceptibility,
improved stiffness and cohesion,
improved flexibility, resilience and toughness,
improved binder-aggregate adhesion,
improved resistance to in-service ageing,
improved rutting resistance.

compositional groups:
From chemistry aspect, crumb rubber modifier (CRM) is a polymer, and asphalt rubber a
polymer modified bituminous binder, however in common industrial practice modified bitumen
have been divided into the following two broad compositional groups:
1. Homogenous polymer modified bitumen which are defined as a blend of polymer and bitumen
where two distinct phases are interwoven to such an extent that the material behaves as a singlephase material from a small, localized viewpoint. Examples of homogenous binders are EVA,
SBR and SBS polymer modified bitumen.
2. Non-homogenous polymer modified bitumen are where there are two distinct, detectable
phases and where there will be localized differences in properties depending at what stage a test
is performed. Asphalt rubber, rubber modified bitumen falls into this category as it consists of
rubber crumbs partially dissolved in a bitumen matrix.

THE WAYS THE ADDITION OF POLYMERS MAY MODIFY BITUMEN

The polymer additives do not chemically combine or change the chemical nature of the bitumen
being modified, apart from being present in and throughout the bitumen.
What polymers will do is change the physical nature of bitumens, and they are able to modify
such physical properties as the softening point and the brittleness of the bitumen.
Elastic recovery/ductility can also be improved.
This in turn will alter the properties of the aggregate / bitumen mixture in which the modified
bitumen is used.
These criteria are important in a mix with regard to problems such as wheel track rutting at high
temperatures and fatigue cracking at low temperatures due to the brittleness of the mix.

The basic laying workability of the asphalt or macadam you are using will still be governed by the
viscosity of the grade of bitumen you have specified.
It is usually the stiffer 50pen, or possibly 70pen bitumen that is modified.
The way the additive/polymer usually influences the bitumen characteristics is by dissolving into
certain component fractions of the bitumen itself, spreading out its long chain polymer molecules
to create an inter-connecting matrix of the polymer through the bitumen.
It is this matrix of the long chain molecules of the added polymer that modifies the physical
properties of the bitumen.
Because of the thermoplastic nature of the polymers, some polymers will actually break up into
their constituent molecular blocks at the high temperatures, during mixing and laying, and
recombine into their polymer chains at lower temperatures, i.e. ambient temperatures.
What has to be ascertained in practice is the degree of modification that takes place, and whether
the degree of improvement achieved in the overall qualities of the bituminous mix is worth having,
and is it cost effective.