Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
and Building
MATERIALS
www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 3208 Red River CTR 318, Austin, TX 78705, USA
Received 19 August 2004; received in revised form 5 July 2005; accepted 21 July 2005
Available online 19 September 2005
Abstract
This paper is a review of research that has been conducted on polymer modied binders over the last three decades. Polymer
modication of asphalt binders has increasingly become the norm in designing optimally performing pavements, particularly in
the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. Specic polymers that have been used include rubber, SBR, SBS and Elvaloy.
Specications have been designed and pre-existing ones modied to capture the rheological properties of polymer modied binders.
The elastic recovery test is good at determining the presence of polymers in an asphalt binder, but is less successful at predicting eld
performance of the pavement.
2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Polymer modied binder; Asphalt; Binder specications; Elastic recovery; SBR; SBS; Elvaloy; Rubber
1. Introduction
0950-0618/$ - see front matter 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2005.07.007
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3. Test methods
4. Specic modiers
As discussed by King et al. in the 1999 Journal of the
AAPT [1], there are several test methods that have been
developed or altered for modied binders. Previously,
both modied and unmodied binders alike were tested
according to the same methods, supported by the Stra-
4.1. Rubber
Crumb rubber modier (CRM) and asphalt-rubber are terms that refer to applications in which ground
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% Recovery
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analysis of repeated load permanent deformation behavior showed that increasing concentrations of Elvaloy
resulted in a marked decrease in deformation.
In a study on low-temperature rheological properties
of polymer modied binders, the FHWA [30] found that
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6. Conclusions
In the 1980s, polymer modied asphalts began to be
used in the US and by 1997 all but three states were already using modied binders or intended to use them in
the future and federal regulations supported their use.
Pavements made with modied binders are more resistant
to fatigue, thermal cracking, rutting, stripping, and temperature susceptibility than neat binders. Polymer modied binders tend to exhibit increased viscosity and elastic
recovery, although penetration does not appear to be
inuenced by modication. An ideal modier will increase binder resistance to multiple types of distresses.
Modication is not without its drawbacks, however, since
compatibility between an asphalt and a modier is not assured, and separation during storage or application, if
not addressed, can result in poorly performing pavement.
Since Superpavee specications were designed for
neat binders, they are inappropriate for polymer modied binders. In fact, asphalts modied with dierent
polymers can behave very dierently even when they
have the same performance grade. Test methods that
have been developed or altered for modied binders include measuring the softening point and elastic recovery,
and a force ductility test. There is disagreement about
whether bending beam rheometer (BBR) tests, developed for Superpavee, are acceptable for polymer modied binders. In general, it seems that the results of
rheological tests are not indicative of the performance
of polymer modied binders. Several tests exist to identify whether modication is present, such as the IR, low
temperature ductility and torsional recovery. In 1991,
the ISTEA required that an increasing proportion of
roads use modied asphalt.
Dierent polymers impact characteristics of asphalt
to diering degrees.
Natural rubber improves rutting resistance and ductility, but is sensitive to decomposition and often has
problems of compatibility.
The use of tyre rubber as an asphalt modier is environmentally responsible and results in decreased rutting and reective cracking, but special conditions,
such as high mixing temperatures and long digestion
times, need to be maintained to prevent separation
from the asphalt binder.
The addition of SBR to asphalt improves low-temperature ductility, increases viscosity, improves elastic recovery and improves the adhesive and cohesive
properties of the pavement. Water-based SBR latex
was used commonly to improve chip retention in
emulsions.
SBS has been replacing SBR due to the formers
wider compatibility and greater tensile strength under
strain. SBS is now the polymer most used to modify
asphalt. SBS increases the elasticity of asphalt and
SBS modied asphalt can be recycled. SBS modied
binders have been found to perform better at low
temperatures than neat binders or binders modied
with chemically reactive polymers.
Elvaloy is a modier that forms a chemical bond
with the asphalt, avoiding problems of separation
during storage, transportation and application. It
increases pavement moisture resistance and results
in modied asphalt performing better in high temperature DSR tests.
Elastic recovery of asphalt, a measurement widely
used to test polymer modied binders, can be measured
by elongating an asphalt sample, cutting it, allowing it
to rest, and determining the degree to which the elongated specimen returns to its original length.
The elastic recovery test has been shown to be a good
measurement of polymer contribution to binder performance, although no relationship appears to exist between rut resistance and elastic recovery. Elastic
recovery and other conventional measurements are
inconsistent in ranking polymer modied binder performance and may only measure whether or not a modier
is present in an asphalt specimen, not its contribution to
the asphalts performance.
Polymer modied binders have had proven success
in the eld and the laboratory, and a continuing eort
is being made to develop a correlation between results
from laboratory tests and eld performance.
References
[1] King G et al. Additives in asphalt. J Assoc Asphalt Paving
Technol A 1999;68:3269.
[2] Bates R, Worch R. Engineering Brief No. 39, Styrenebutadiene
rubber latex modied asphalt. Federal Aviation Administration,
Washington, DC, 1987. Available from: http://www.faa.gov/arp/
engineering/briefs/eb39.htm.
[3] Thompson DC. Hoiberg AJ, editor. Bituminous materials:
Asphalt tars and pitches. Robert Krieger Publishing Co.; 1979.
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