International Journal of Scientific Research in Knowledge (IJSRK), 1(12), pp. 570-579, 2013 Available online at http://www.ijsrpub.

com/ijsrk ISSN: 2322-4541; 2013 IJSRPUB http://dx.doi.org/10.12983/ijsrk-2013-p570-579

Full Length Research Paper The Investigation of the Impact of Lucobit Polymer on Bitumen Performance
Ali Mansour Khaki1, Seyyed Hossein Sadati Baladehi2,3*, Taha Akbari3, Amir Enayati3
Associate Professor of Civil Faculty, Iran University of Science & Technology, Iran, 2 Islamic Azad University, Gorgan Branch, Gorgan, Iran, 3 Department of Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran, *Corresponding Author: Hossein_sadati51@yahoo.com; 00989111526548
Received 01 October 2013; Accepted 20 November 2013
1

Abstract. With the increase of traffic and consequently, the loads applied on the roads, the need for a more durable pavement is of special significance. Therefore, the researchers have been seeking for ways to improve the functional properties of bitumen and asphalt mixtures. For this reason, different materials have been used to modify these properties. Polymers are divided into three general groups including elastomers, plastomers and elasto-plastomers. Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) is one of the most applicable polymers. In this study the polymer "Lucobit" that is a polyolefin, has been used to modify the bitumen properties. Using of this polymer has improved both the classic (softening point, penetration, and so on) and performance (Fatigue parameter, Storage Modulus, Damping Factor) properties of bitumen in comparison to the standard bitumen. In addition, the influence of this polymer on the asphalt mixture has been investigated. The results show that the use of this polymer improves Marshall Stability, indirect tension, shear modulus, and the rutting in the wheel track of asphalt mixtures Key words: Bitumen, Polyolefin, Lucobit, Performance, Elastomeric

1. INTRODUCTION Asphalt has been widely used in highways, airports, construction and other fields (http://www.njglc.com/listwz.aspx?ID=361). However, because of a number of disadvantages, such as crack prone in low temperature, poor aging resistance and fatigue resistance, it cannot meet highspeed and heavy load of modern traffic of roads (www.njglc.com/listwz.aspx?ID=361; www.sto.net.cn/bbs/thread-24696-1-1.html). Therefore, a large number of researches have been done to modify asphalt properties in recent decades (Maccarrone, 1991; Feipeng et al., 2009). The addition of polymers, chains of repeated small molecules, to asphalt has shown to improve performance. Pavement with polymer modification exhibits greater resistance to rutting and thermal cracking, and decreased fatigue damage, stripping and temperature susceptibility. Polymer modified binders have been used with success at locations of high stress, such as intersections of streets with high traffic, airports, heavy vehicle stations, and race tracks (King, 1999). Polymers that have been used to modify asphalt include styrenebutadienestyrene (SBS), styrenebutadiene rubber (SBR), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polyethylene, and others. Desirable

characteristics of polymer modified binders include greater elastic recovery, higher softening point, greater viscosity, greater cohesive strength and greater ductility (King et al., 1999; Bates and Worch, 1987). Lucobit 1210A consists of thermoplastic polyolefins. Addition of Lucobit to bitumen increases its viscosity and broadens the range of plasticity. Although the minimum value of the Fraass breaking point of Lucobit is as low as for unmodified standard bitumen, the ring and ball softening point increases considerably, depending on the proportion of Lucobit that was added. Penetration values decline accordingly. Ductility determined according to DIN EN 12591 decreases, however, the values ascertained for the so-called ductility at low temperatures are usually more favourable than those for standard bitumen without addition of Lucobit (www.lucobit.de/en/page/508/asphaltmodification.html). 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS The bitumen with PG58-16 of degree of performance from Isfahan Refinery has been used to mix with Lucobit Polymer. The characteristics of bitumen and Lucobit Polymer are presented in Tables 1 and 2, respectively.

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Khaki et al. The Investigation of the Impact of Lucobit Polymer on Bitumen Performance Table1: Characteristics of the used bitumen
Ductility (cm) Over 100 Softening point (0c) 51 Penetration at 25 0c (0.1mm) 68 Pure bitumen 60/70

Table2: Characteristics of Lucobit

Typical Properties Density (23 C) Apparent Density Elongation at Break (23 C) Modules of Elasticity Softening Range Embrittlement Range Unit g/cm3 g/l % MPa C C Lucobit 0.97 ~ 500 700 - 800 17 80 - 100 < - 30

To investigate the effect of lucobit polymer on the properties of bitumen and asphalt, it is initially mixed with the standard bitumen in different percentages by weight. To combine this polymer with bitumen, the bitumen is heated up to 140oC, at first. Then,it is combined with lucobit in different percentages. To be sure about the uniformity of mixture bitumen and polymer were mixed with a high-shear mixer with 3000 rpm for 20 minutes at 140oC. The outcome of

this mixing was 5 types of standard and polymeric bitumen including 2, 4, 6, and 8 percent of lucobit. Then, the samples were divided into 3 main groups. Some samples were used to carry out the rheological tests, some for the classical tests of bitumen, and the rest for preparing asphalt mixture samples.To prepare the asphalt mixture, samples and the aggregates with properties presented in table 1 were used.

Table 3: The properties of aggregates used for asphalt preparation

Standard Methods Test Result Standard limited Test

ASTM C 131 C88 C127 D 4791

AASHTO T 96 T 104 T 85 --

12 2 0.8 1

25 8 2.5 15

Maximum Los-Angeles (%) Maximum weight loss with sodium sulphate (%) Maximum water absorption (%) Maximum percentage of flat and aggregates

In addition, the grading proposed by the publication No. 234 of Management and Planning Organization of Iran, which is also suggested for
Average passing 100 95 59 43 13 6

pavement layer, was taken into account to prepare the asphalt mixture samples.

Table4: The used grading in asphalt samples preparation

Percent passing 100 90-100 44-74 28-58 5-21 2-10 Sieve size 19 mm 12.5 mm 4.75 mm (N0. 4) 2.36 mm (No. 8) 0.3 mm (No. 50) 0.075 mm (No. 200)

Rheological characterization of base binder and bitumen-CNT blends considered in this study was carried out by oscillatory loading tests. Oscillatory tests were carried out by means of a dynamic shear rheometer (Physica MCR 301 DSR from Anton Paar Inc.) in a wide range of frequencies and temperatures. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS A number of experiments were conducted on the samples prepared with different percents of lucobit polymer employing a Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR). The results of these experiments are presented in the following.

3.1. The classical tests of bitumen The penetration test was carried out according to ASTM-D5. This experiment is performed to determine the relative stiffness of bitumen. According to figure1, it can be seen that an increase in the proportion of lucobit to bitumen leads to a decrease in the penetration of bitumen which is indicative of the decrease in fluency and the increase in the consolidation of bitumen at normal and high temperatures. Such polymeric samples of bitumen do not rut at high temperatures.

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Fig. 1: investigation of the effect of lucobit polymer on the penetration of bitumen

The softening point of both standard and modified bitumen was measured according to ASTM-D36. The softening point is the temperature at which bitumen becomes fluent. The bitumen with higher softening

point is less sensitive to the variation in temperature and experiences less variation in its viscosity. As it is depicted in figure 2, adding this polymer to bitumen increases its softening point.

Fig. 2: investigation of the effect of lucobit polymer on the penetration of bitumen

In general, the variations in the density of bitumen (penetration or viscosity), resulted from variation in its thermal conditions, is called the thermal sensitivity of bitumen which is different for different types of

bitumen. The thermal sensitivity of bitumen can be calculated in several ways. One of these approaches is using Penetration Index, PI, which is introduced in the following (Yousefi, 2003):

log800 log(Penat250 C ) TR & B 250 C

PI

20 500A 1 50 A

is the softening point temperature. It is known by experience that pavements with bitumens having PI close to +1, have better performance (Gabra and Horvli, 2003; Huang and White, 1996). Adding lucobit in different percentages increases the PI of bitumen. However, its value is different for different combinations. Based on the presented results, the best value for PI is +0.94 for bitumen with 8% of lucobit which is closer to +1 in comparison to other mixtures (figure 3.).

TR & B

Despite the fact that bitumen has a high adhesion, it has limited continuity. In addition, it is limited between fracture and softening point in terms of temperature. The use of this polymer leads to the expansion in the endurable temperature range by two times as well as continuity improvement. This issue itself results in an improvement in resistance of bitumen to fluency and softening point, a higher viscosity in service conditions, and a decrease in thermal sensitivity. The higher amount of PI is indicative of lower thermal sensitivity of bitumen.

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Khaki et al. The Investigation of the Impact of Lucobit Polymer on Bitumen Performance

This matter shows that this type of bitumen can have more desirable properties in areas with a high range of

temperature changes (Gabra and Horvli, 2003; Huang and White, 1996).

Fig. 3: investigation of the effect of lucobit polymer on the penetration index of bitumen

3.2. Performance experiments of bitumen The complex modulus is one of the main parameters describing the behavior of bitumen and includes two parts of elastic and dissipative module.

G*2=G2+iG2 The results of the experiment obtained from DSR indicate that the use of lucobit polymer improves the performance of the complex modulus of bitumen.

Fig. 4: The complex modulus of modified bitumen samples with different percentages of polymer

As it is shown in figure 4, the use of lucobit polymer improves the properties of modified bitumen in comparison to its standard form in almost all loading frequencies. In addition, investigating the elastic modulus of standard and modified bitumen in different loading frequencies, it was observed that by adding this

polymer to bitumen the elastic modulus of standard bitumen, which is indicative of its elastic behavior, has improved. The elastic behavior of bitumen, as one of the most important functional characteristics of bitumen, is influenced by traffic load and vehicles weight. This characteristic has been improved by adding the polymer (figure 5).

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Fig. 5: Elastic modulus of modified bitumen samples with different percentages of polymer

Furthermore, the phase change angle, as a significant parameter affecting the behavior of bitumen, is influenced by the applied loads on pavement. bitumens with small phase change angle have better performance specifically at high temperatures. In addition to the fact that small phase change angles are indicative of lower permanent deformation in asphalt in hot weather conditions, the slope of these diagrams is pointing the performance of

this material. As it is depicted in fig. 6, by increasing the percentage of lucobit polymer in bitumen, its phase angle decreases which means that the modified bitumen has a greater performance at high temperatures (for example, in summer). Moreover, for the modified bitumen including 8% of polymer, the slope of diagram has decreased as well as the phase angle which is indicative of approaching the behavior of this bitumen to the ideal ones.

Fig. 6: investigation of phase change angle of modified bitumen samples with different percentages of polymer

The cracks resulted from the asphalt fatigue are one of the most important failures in pavement which play the key role in reducing the serviceability and quality of the roads. Parameter G*.Sin is indicative of the behavior of bitumen under severe loading and consequently, asphalt mixture's fatigue. As it can be seen, with adding lucobit polymer to the standard

bitumen, this parameter has remarkably improved. The asphalt fatigue usually takes place at low temperatures in pavement. As it can be observed, with adding this polymer to the standard bitumen, lowtemperature behavior of bitumen, which is equivalent to high frequencies in the experiment of dynamic shear rheometer, has noticeably improved.

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Khaki et al. The Investigation of the Impact of Lucobit Polymer on Bitumen Performance

Fig. 7: investigation of fatigue parameter of modified bitumen samples with different percentages of polymer

One of the most important problems of flexible pavements is the large deformation of asphalt mix along vehicles wheel path. This kind of failure is the consequence of large deformations of asphalt due to the weakness of elastic properties of bitumen at high temperatures. This type of failure is called rutting. The

parameter G*/Sin predicts this failure in hightemperature pavement. As it is shown in figure 8, adding this polymer to bitumen has improved the rutting parameter. This matter implies a greater behavior of bitumen at high temperatures and a reduction in the failure resulted from rutting.

Fig. 8: investigation of rutting parameter of modified bitumen samples with different percentages of polymer

4. CLASSIC TEST OF ASPHALT MIXES Marshall Stability test is conducted according to ASTM-1559. This experiment is performed to investigate the stability and persistence of asphalt mixtures by measuring two parameters of Marshall Stability and Flow. As it is depicted in figure 9, by increasing the percentage of polymer, Marshall

Stability has also increased so that this increase is approximately 13% for the samples prepared by adding 8% of lucobit in comparison to those prepared by the standard bitumen, while the fluency of all samples is within the standard range. The last matter can be indicative of a greater performance of asphalt mixes under traffic loading.

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Fig. 9: Marshall Stability and Flow for different cases

The test Indirect Tensile Strain (ITS) causes tensile stress in the asphalt mix sample due to the specific loading conditions. Since the major part of the tensile stress in asphalt mix is sustained by bitumen, the binding between bitumen and aggregates can be deduced from the result of this experiment. As it is

observed in figure 10, as the percentage of lucobit increases, the values of indirect tensile strain increase, too. This issue reveals that adding polymer to bitumen makes the bonding between bitumen and aggregates stronger which is effective in preventing aggregates from striping.

Fig. 10: Tension diagram for different cases

The experiment of wheel track is indicative of pavement durability in its life cycle. This experiment is definitely one of the most important experiments for comparing the long-term performance of pavement. As it is shown in figure 11, the samples with higher percentage of lucobit have smaller rutting depth so that this decrease is approximately 65% for the samples prepared by adding 8% of lucobit polymer in comparison to those prepared by the standard bitumen. Based on the results of rutting experiment, it can be claimed that the use of this polymer in areas having hot weather or experiencing extremely heavy

traffic (the effective parameters in asphalt mix deformation) has a perfect efficiency. The resilience modulus, as one of the most important parameters in designing pavement, has many applications and can play a key role in determining the thickness of layers of asphalt mixes. For the samples prepared by adding lucobit, it is observed that adding this polymer has remarkably influential role in increasing the resilience modulus of mixes. This increase can be effective in reducing the thickness of layers.

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Khaki et al. The Investigation of the Impact of Lucobit Polymer on Bitumen Performance

Fig. 11: The effect of lucobit on rutting

Fig. 12: The effect of lucobit on resilience modulus

4. CONCLUSIONS Bitumen has limited capabilities and a specific servicing-time due to its restricted physical and mechanical properties. Polymers, as the most significant family of bitumen modifiers, are added to improve the performance of bitumen. In this study, lucobit, as one of the plastomeric modifiers from the complex of polyolefin, has been mixed with the standard bitumen in different percentages (2%-8%) by weight and its effect on different properties of

bitumen has been investigated through classical and functional experiments. The results indicate that adding this polymer to bitumen improves the penetration, softening point, and penetrability index of bitumen. Moreover, the results of the functional experiments done on the bitumen samples show that the functional properties of bitumen including the complex modulus, elastic modulus, fatigue parameter, rutting parameter, and phase change angle of modified samples of bitumen with this polymer have improved in comparison to the standard bitumen. Furthermore, the results of the

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experiments done on the asphalt mix samples indicate that the use of this polymer has improved the Marshal stability, shear modulus, indirect tensile strain, and rutting of wheels track. REFERENCES Bates R, Worch R (1987). Engineering Brief No. 39, Styrenebutadiene rubber latex modified asphalt. Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC. Feipeng X, Serji NA, Junan S (2009). Influences of crumb rubber size and type on reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) mixtures. Constr Build Mater., 23(2): 102834. Gabra R, Horvli I (2006). Simplified testing method for evaluation of asphalt mixtures for their susceptibility to permanent deformation. Giovanni P, Stefano B, Dario B (2005). Asphalt modification with different polyethylene-based polymers. Eur Polym., 41(12): 283144. Huang HM, White TD (1996). Minimum crushed aggregate requirements. Draft FinalReport,

Joint Highway Research Project FHWA/IN/JHRP-96/23. Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN; 1996. King G (1999). Additives in asphalt. J. Assoc Asphalt Paving Technol A., 68: 32-69. Maccarrone S (1991). Properties of polymer modified binders and relationships to mix and pavement performance. Asphalt Pav Technol., 60: 210. Yetkin Y (2007). Polymer modified asphalt binders. Constr Build Mater 2007;21(1):6672. Yousefi AA (2003). Polyethylene dispersions in bitumen: Polymer structural parameter effect", J. of Applied Polymer Science, 90(12): 31833190. Online References http://www.lucobit.de/en/page/508/asphaltmodification.html; Available online: 22 October 2013. http://www.njglc.com/listwz.aspx?ID=361; Available online: April 20 2006. http://www.sto.net.cn/bbs/thread-24696-1-1.html; Available online: December 18 2008.

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Associate professor Dr. Ali Mansour Khaki obtained his first degree from Iran University Science and Technology in civil engineering in 1971. He later pursued master degree in road and transportation engineering in university??? American and graduated in 1978 Dr. Khaki received his doctorate from university?? American in1980. With major in Road and Transportation engineering. He has published numerous refereed articles in professional journals. Dr. Khaki also has conducted numerous consultancies and research works at national and international level. His vast experience in transportation planning has enabled him to conduct numerous talks and seminars at national and international level.

Seyyed Hossein Sadati Baladehi is a Ph.D candidate in transportation engineering at iran university of science and technology and a recipient of Islamic Azad University, Gorgan Branch scholarship. He received his first degree from Islamic Azad University, Gorgan Branch in 1995 a worked in civil engineering. He obtained degree in Master of Science in transportation engineering from Iran University of Science and Technology in 1997 with major in transportation engineering. His current research is focuses on vulnerability value and accessibility indexes. To date, he has published several scientific articles related to transportation engineering field.

Taha Hossein Akbari Marzank received his first degree from Islamic Azad Qaemshar university in 2004 awarded in civil engineering. He obtained degree in Master of Science in road and transportation engineering from Iran University of science and Technology in 2012 with major in road and transportation engineering.

Amir Enayati received his first degree from Islamic Azad Qaemshar university in 2003 awarded in civil engineering. He obtained degree in Master of Science in road and transportation engineering from Iran University of science and Technology in 2009 with major in road and transportation engineering.

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