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Effectiveness of Fibers in Stabilizing and Reinforcing Bituminous Mixtures: A review

without RAP under both laboratory and field testing. Wong, Sun & Lais (2007) research at NTU concluded that HMA made with 45% recycled Portland Cement Concrete performed better under Resilient Modulus Test than control specimen.

2.3 Asphalt Binder

Other research has focused on binder modification to improve the quality of HMA mixes. Binder is the glue that holds aggregate particles together. Cement is the binder used in rigid pavements, while flexible pavements are made with asphalt binder. Asphalt modified with SBR/MMT has shown to exhibit improved visco-elastic properties, resulting in enhanced resistance to rutting of pavements at high temperatures (Zhang et al. 2009). Hnslolu & Aar, (2004) showed improvement in properties of asphalt concrete made using HDPE (High density polyethylene)-modified asphalt binder. Shell Thiopave is an innovative product that, when added to bituminous mixtures, reduces mixing temperatures by 2050C. Rubioa et al. (2013) found, for the same manufacturing and spreading equipment, 58% less CO2 was released into the atmosphere and 99% less SO2 when half warm-mix asphalt (mixing tempeature ~100C) was used in place of hot mix asphalt.

2.4 Mineral Filler

Another important avenue of HMA modification involves the use of mineral fillers. Mineral Fillers are particles that pass No. 200 sieve (75m). It is either mixed into the binder before mixing with aggregate (wet process) or incorporated into the mixture as part of aggregate (dry process. Mineral filler should be easily pulverized and free of lumps and organic materials. Research into use of mineral fillers in HMA pavements dates back more than half a decade. Puzinauskas (1969) mentioned the following roles of mineral fillers in HMA: (a) filling interstices between aggregate particles, (b) providing contact points between large aggregate particles, (c) acting as a bitumen extender thus creating rich and highly consistent bitumen mastic to hold the large aggregate particles. It wasnt until the 1970s that legislation Juzer Naushad Moosajee, 14070 Page 3

Effectiveness of Fibers in Stabilizing and Reinforcing Bituminous Mixtures: A review


in US was passed to mandate use of baghouse fines (stone dust) in HMA. Up until then, HMA plants blew the dust from aggregate dryers into the open atmosphere and various other fillers were used to accommodate the deficiency in fines (Kandhal, 2009).

Many researchers have studied varying mineral fillers in order to improve the quality of flexible pavements in their regions. In 1952, Carpenter found that asphalt mixes that contained Class F coal fly ash filler had improved resistance to stripping. Dukatz & Anderson (1970) investigated the effects of eight different filler materials on mechanical properties of HMA and concluded that different filler materials have different effects on stiffness but almost no effect on Marshall Stability or void ratio. Other waste fillers that have been studied include marble waste dust (Karaahin & Terzi, 2007), cement bypass dust (Ramzi Taha et al. 2002), Palm Oil Fuel Ash (Borhan et al. 2010; Moosajee, 2011).

Many of these researches focus on improvement of mixes for surface/wearing courses. Wearing courses are subject to the most demanding conditions as compared to binder/base courses. In addition to the requirements mentioned earlier, surface courses are also prone to harsh environmental conditions e.g. freeze/thaw actions, moisture induced damage, spillage of fuel and corrosive materials. As the topmost layer, it undergoes aging a lot more than underlying layer. It is thus no surprise that a majority of JKRs budget for Road Maintenance is assigned for rehabilitation of surface courses. In addition, majority of research into pavement materials is for improvement of wearing courses. Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) and Porous Asphalt (PA) are the most widely used bituminous mixtures developed specifically for surface layers.

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Effectiveness of Fibers in Stabilizing and Reinforcing Bituminous Mixtures: A review

2.5 Stone Mastic Asphalt

SMA is a product of 1960s German research specifically developed for use in surface layers of pavements. It was initially designed to resist wear against studded tires, which were outlawed in the 1970s (Cooley & Brown, 2003). However, SMAs effectiveness in providing a durable, deformation resistant surface layer for use in highly trafficked areas was recognized. SMA is a gap-graded mixture containing 70-80% coarse aggregate content, 6-7% bitumen content and 8-12% filler content. Its deformation resistance is largely due to an interlocking stone skeleton with the high filler content providing large number of stone-stone contact points. The high bitumen and filler content creates a rich durable mastic film around the aggregate that prolongs long-term aging of the bitumen in addition to providing extra flexibility. The high coarse aggregate and bitumen content made SMA prone to binder draindown. To restrict draindown, cellulose fibers were added to the mixture as a stabilizer. The fibers create a micro-mesh within the bitumen mastic that prevents excessive draindown of the bitumen. In addition to its stabilizing effect on Open and Gap Graded mixes e.g. SMA, PA, fibers have been used as reinforcement in asphalt concrete mixtures for a variety of reasons.

2.6 Fibers in Bituminous Mixtures

Polypropylene Fiber: Polypropylene fibers first found use as reinforcement in cement composites (Thomas, 1972). Barr & Newman (1985) found that toughness index of polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete increased by some 50% as the fiber content was increased from 0.1% to 0.5% by weight. A 1993 study by Yi and McDaniel found that polypropylene FRAC reduced crack intensities and reflective cracking in base/binder course overlays. Tapkin (2008) found that polypropylene ber-reinforced asphalt mixtures exhibit good resistance to rutting, prolonged fatigue life and is less prone to reective cracking. However, Huang and White (1996) found that the low melting point of polypropylene fiber (130C-150C) made it incompatible with hot bitumen, which is mixed at 165C. Thus, the polypropylene would no longer act as a fiber, instead it would mix with the asphalt creating a polymer modified bitumen. Using an Artificial Neural Network, Hejazi et al. (2008) found that the melted polypropylene acts as a glue which improves the tackiness within the matrix.

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