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ABSTRACT
Crumb rubber modified bitumen (CRMB) was used in numerous asphalt paving projects in all 50 states of the United States from
1991 to 1995 due to a federal government mandate. Most states discontinued the routine use of CRMB after the mandate was repealed
in 1995. There are three primary reasons for this.
First, the use of CRMB requires development of a statewide infrastructure consisting of strategically located blending terminals
or on-site blending units. This is required because CRMB must be used as soon as possible since its quality can start to deteriorate as
early as 6 hours after production. Crumb rubber is prone to degradation (devulcanization and depolymerization) if its use is delayed
thereby losing its vital properties such as elasticity and viscosity.
Second, crumb rubber tends to separate and settle down in the bitumen. If some crumb rubber particles have settled to the bottom
of the transport tanker or contractors storage tank, the CRMB at the top may have quality, which is inferior to pure bitumen. This
happens because the crumb rubber at the bottom has robbed (absorbed) aromatic oils from the bitumen. In sch cases, the CRMB
actually used can be detrimental to the bituminous pavement. Therefore, after production CRMB should be agitated continuously
through mechanical means during its transportation and its storage in contractors bitumen tank.
Third, many states in the US have reported mixed performance of asphalt pavements constructed with CRMB and the cost
effectiveness of CRMB was found to be none to marginal.
At the present time, CRMB is used on a routine basis only in four states in the US. The remaining 46 states do not appear to have
much interest in developing the necessary infrastructure and implementing the necessary quality control programme to ensure effective
use of CRMB. The objective of this paper is to describe all necessary quality control requirements for using CRMB in bituminous mixtures
so that both producers and users alike can assess whether in a developing country like India there is the necessary infrastructure and
quality control programme in place for the effective use of CRMB.
1. INTRODUCTION
* Associate Director Emeritus, National Center for Asphalt Technology, Karampura House, Jaipur
Email: bkandhal@eng.auburn.edu
Written comments on this Paper are invited and will be accepted upto the 31st August, 2006.
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REFERENCES
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