The Effects of Iraq Natural Asphalt on Mechanical Properties of Bituminous Hot Mixtures

The increasing rate of traffic every day requires the roads to be made more stable. To improve the low and high temperature properties of the bituminous mixtures forming the coating layer of the flexible pavements, the binder in the mixture is often modified with various polymers. The most commonly used polymer in the modification is styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS). However, SBS, which is very successful in improving the mechanical properties of the mixtures, is expensive and has brought the search for cheaper alternative additives. In this context, natural asphalts (NA) which are not subjected to any processes are used as additive. In this study, natural asphalt obtained from Zaho region of Iraq was used in 20%, 35% and 50% of bitumen modification by weight. The mechanical properties of mixtures prepared with different amount of NA modified bitumen were compared with 4% SBS modified bituminous mixtures. As a result, NA modification significantly improved the properties of bituminous mixtures. In particular, above 35% NA, the mixtures exhibited a superior performance by significantly resisting the effect of repeated loads. It was found that an average of 17.3% NA modification exhibited similar behaviour with 4% SBS modification and provided significant economic savings.

The Effects of Iraq Natural Asphalt on Mechanical Properties of Bituminous Hot Mixtures

The increasing rate of traffic every day requires the roads to be made more stable. In order to improve the low and high temperature properties of the bituminous mixtures forming the coating layer of the flexible pavements, the binder in the mixture is often modified with various polymers. The most commonly used polymer in the modification is styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS). However, SBS, which is very successful in improving the mechanical properties of the mixtures, is expensive and has brought the search for cheaper alternative additives. In this context, natural asphalts (NA) which are not subjected to any processes are used as additive. In this study, natural asphalt obtained from Zaho region of Iraq was used in 20%, 35% and 50% of bitumen modification by weight. The mechanical properties of mixtures prepared with different amount of NA modified bitumen were compared with 4% SBS modified bituminous mixtures. As a result, NA modification significantly improved the properties of bituminous mixtures. In particular, above 35% NA, the mixtures exhibited a superior performance by significantly resisting the effect of repeated loads. It was found that an average of 17.3% NA modification exhibited similar behavior with 4% SBS modification and provided significant economic savings.

___

  • Meyer, R.F., De Witt W., Definition and world resources of natural bitumens. US Government Printing Office, 1990.
  • Liao, M.C., Chen, J.S., Airey, G.D., Wang, S.J., Rheological behavior of bitumen mixed with Trinidad lake asphalt: Construction and Building Materials, 2014, DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.05.068.
  • Xu, S., Huang, W., Cai, F., Huang, H., Hu, C., Evaluation of properties of Trinidad Lake Asphalt and SBS-modified petroleum asphalt. Petroleum Science and Technology, 37(2):234-241,2019.
  • Jahanian, H.R., Shafabakhsh, G., Divandari, H., Performance evaluation of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) containing bitumen modified with Gilsonite: Construction and Building Materials, 2017, DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.11.069.
  • Hamidi, H., Stiffness modulus and permanent deformation characteristics of asphalt mix containing gilsonite. Master’s Tesis Institut Technol Bandung, 1998.
  • Babagoli, R., Hasaninia, M., Mohammad Namazi, N., Laboratory evaluation of the effect of gilsonite on the performance of stone matrix asphalt mixtures: Road Materials and Pavement Design, 2015, DOI: 10.1080/14680629.2015.1042016.
  • Balık, G., Yılmaz, M., Kök, B.V., Alataş, T., Effects of Mixing Temperature on the Mechanical Properties of Hot Mix Asphalt: Teknik Dergi, 2019 (4), 9221-9241.
  • Li, R., Wang, P., Xue, B., Pei, J., Experimental study on aging properties and modification mechanism of Trinidad lake asphalt modified bitumen: Construction and Building Materials, 2015, DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.10.155.
  • Yilmaz, M., Çeloǧlu, M.E., Effects of SBS and different natural asphalts on the properties of bituminous binders and mixtures: Construction and Building Materials, 2013, DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.03.036.
  • Ameri, M., Mansourian, A., Ashani, S. S., & Yadollahi, G. (2011). Technical study on the Iranian Gilsonite as an additive for modification of asphalt binders used in pavement construction. Construction and Building Materials, 25(3), 1379-1387.
  • Suo, Z., & Wong, W. G. (2009). Analysis of fatigue crack growth behavior in asphalt concrete material in wearing course. Construction and Building Materials, 23(1), 462-468.
  • Kök, B. V., Yílmaz, M., Turgut, P., & Kuloğlu, N. (2012). Evaluation of the mechanical properties of natural asphalt-modified hot mixture. International journal of materials research, 103(4), 506-512.
  • Said, S. F., & Hakim, H. (2009). Performance evaluation of fatigue cracking in flexible pavement (No. 09-0365).
  • Zou, G., & Wu, C. (2015). Evaluation of rheological properties and field applications of Buton rock asphalt. Journal of Testing and Evaluation, 43(5), 1146-1156.
  • Ma, F., & Zhang, C. (2013). Road performance of asphalt binder modified with natural rock asphalt. In Advanced Materials Research (Vol. 634, pp. 2729-2732). Trans Tech Publications Ltd.
  • Li, J., Zhang, X. N., Liu, Y., & Wu, C. H. (2013). Effect of Rock Asphalt on the Surface Free Energy of Asphalt. In Advanced Materials Research (Vol. 785, pp. 963-966). Trans Tech Publications Ltd.
  • Zhong, K., Yang, X., & Luo, S. (2017). Performance evaluation of petroleum bitumen binders and mixtures modified by natural rock asphalt from Xinjiang China. Construction and Building Materials, 154, 623-631.
  • Tarefder, R. A., and S. S. Yousefi. 2016. “Rheological examination of aging in polymer-modified asphalt.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 28 (2): 04015112.
  • Airey, G. D. 2003. “Rheological properties of styrene butadiene styrene polymer modified road bitumens.” Fuel 82 (14): 1709–1719.
  • Liang, M., P. Liang, W. Fan, C. Qian, X. Xin, J. Shi, and G. Nan. 2015. “Thermo-rheological behavior and compatibility of modified asphalt with various styrene-butadiene structures in SBS copolymers.” Mater. Des. 88: 177–185.
  • Aglan, H., A. Othman, L. Figueroa, and R. Rollings. 1993. “Effect of Sytrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer on fatigue crack propagation behavior of asphalt concrete mixtures.”
  • Ali Khodaii, Amir Mehrara, Evaluation of permanent deformation of unmodified and SBS modified asphalt mixtures using dynamic creep test, Construction and Building Materials Volume 23, Issue 7, July 2009, Pages 2586-2592
  • Mahmoud Ameri, Mostafa Vamegh, Reza Imaninasab, Hamed Rooholamini, Effect of nanoclay on performance of neat and SBS-modified bitumen and HMA, Petroleum Science and Technology,(2016) 34:11-12, 1091-1097.
  • Haiying Fu, Leidong Xie, Daying Dou, Linfan Li, Ming Yu, Side Yao., Storage stability and compatibility of asphalt binder modified by SBS graft copolymer, Construction and Building Materials Volume 21, Issue 7, July 2007, Pages 1528-1533
  • Zaniewski, J.P., Pumphrey, M.E., Evaluation of Performance Graded Asphalt Binder Equipment and Testing Protocol, 2004.
  • Zoorob, S.E., & Suparma, L.B., Laboratory design and investigation of the properties of continuously graded Asphaltic concrete containing recycled plastics aggregate replacement (Plastiphalt): Cement and Concrete Composites, 2000, DOI: 10.1016/S0958-9465(00)00026-3.
  • Kaloush, K.E., Witczak, M.W., J Assoc Asphalt Paving Technol 71:278, 2002.
  • Little, D. N., Button, J. W., Youssef, H., Development of Criteria To Evaluate Uniaxial Creep Data and Asphalt Concrete Permanent Deformation Poteittial: Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1993.
  • Feeley, A.J. (1994). UTM-5P universal testing machine hardware reference manual Industrial Process Controls Limited Boronia Australia.
  • Witczak, M.W., Simple performance tests for permanent deformation of hot mix asphalt. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2007.
  • Bausano, J., Williams, C., A new approach to calculating flow number, 2007.
  • https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/sbs-polymer.html
  • https://www.tupras.com.tr/bitum-fiyatlari-guncel