International Journal of Pavement Engineering

ISSN: 1029-8436 (Print) 1477-268X (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/gpav20

The use of natural rubber latex as a renewable

and sustainable modifier of asphalt binder

Yong Wen, Yuhong Wang, Kecheng Zhao & Agachai Sumalee

To cite this article: Yong Wen, Yuhong Wang, Kecheng Zhao & Agachai Sumalee (2015):
The use of natural rubber latex as a renewable and sustainable modifier of asphalt binder,
International Journal of Pavement Engineering, DOI: 10.1080/10298436.2015.1095913

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2015.1095913

Published online: 05 Nov 2015.

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 International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 2015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2015.1095913

The use of natural rubber latex as a renewable and sustainable modifier of asphalt
binder
Yong Wena, Yuhong Wanga, Kecheng Zhaoa and Agachai Sumaleeb
a
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, HK; bDepartment of Civil Engineering, King
Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, Thailand

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Natural rubber (NR) powder as a bio-modifier of asphalt binder has been shown to have some beneficial Received 24 April 2015
effects. However, there is limited research into the use of the liquid form of NR, i.e. concentrated NR Accepted 15 September 2015
latex, as an asphalt binder modifier. Compared to NR powder, NR latex is cheaper and more accessible KEYWORDS
in some countries, and potentially creates viscosity-reducing foams in the modified binder during
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Natural rubber latex; rubber-

mixture production. In this research, asphalt binders modified with different amount of NR latex were modified asphalt; multiple
systematically studied, including the rotational viscosities, rutting resistance, fatigue resistance, low- stress creep recover (MSCR);
temperature behaviour and temperature sensitivity. The dispersion of the NR latex in the modified binders fluorescence microscope;
was examined using fluorescence microscope and atomic force microscope. Test results indicate that the atomic force microscope
addition of NR latex increases the viscosity and elastic recovery of the modified binders and potentially (AFM); rheological properties
enhances asphalt pavements’ resistance to rutting, thermal cracking and fatigue damage. The NR latex also
reduces the temperature sensitivity of the modified binders. The optimum NR latex content was found to
be 7% of the total mass of the modified binder. A network of extensive microstructures mixed with bubbles
was identified in the modified binders under heat. As a renewable and sustainable material, NR latex has
the potential to be used as an effective asphalt modifier.

1. Introduction
With the increasing demands on and decreasing reserves of oil,
researchers around the world are interested in finding alternative
pavement binders and binder modifiers (Peralta et al. 2012, Xiu
and Shahbazi 2012). For instance, research has been conducted
to evaluate the feasibility of using bio-binders derived from bio-
mass or bio-waste products to partially replace traditional asphalt
binder (Fini et al. 2011, You et al. 2011, Peralta et al. 2012, Wen
et al. 2013). Bio-polymers, which are generated from renewable
natural sources, are an alternative to oil-based polymers. They
may improve the sustainability of highway pavements by reducing
the life cycle costs, the consumption of non-renewable resources
and the generation of greenhouse gas emissions (Ruggles 2004,
Sridee 2006). They may also help some disadvantaged farmers
in developing countries by creating additional demands on their
agricultural products.
Natural rubber (NR) is a bio-polymer that may be used for
asphalt modification. NR latex is extracted from rubber tree
(Hevea brasiliensis) by tapping. It is essentially a dispersion of
cis-1, 4-polyisoprene (see Figure 1) in water phase. The raw NR
latex is not used directly due to high water content and sus-
ceptibility to bacterial attack (Greve 2000). Different methods
including centrifugation (most frequently used), creaming and
evaporation have been adopted to achieve a high concentration
of solid rubber (up to 60% or more) (Rattana 2003). During
these processes, ammonia is usually applied to prevent NR latex
from bacterial attack (Sridee 2006). The concentrated NR latex
is then ready to be sold in the international market. Thailand,
Indonesia, Viet Nam, India and Mainland China are the top five
NR-producing countries (FAOSTAT 2015). The global NR pro-
duction increased from approximately 6.8 million metric tons in
2000 to 12 million metric tons in 2013, but the price has fallen
dramatically since 2011 and is expected to continue to decline
(Anon 2014, Statista 2015). The increase in NR production and
falling price create a huge pressure on finding the alternative
uses of NR. Therefore, the use of NR as an asphalt modifier may
potentially create a win–win situation by relieving the economic
pressures of rubber tree farmers and at the same time improving
road infrastructures that are in bad conditions in many devel-
oping countries.
Most of the studies on NR-modified asphalt were conducted
in the United Kingdom during 1950–1960s. In these studies, NR
power (unvulcanized or lightly vulcanized) and NR latex were
evaluated and compared. It was found that the addition of NR
powder had several advantages including the improvement of
rutting and fatigue resistance of asphalt pavements, but it has
some disadvantages including high mixing temperature and long
mixing time (up to 2 h) (Mullins and Smee 1952). The use of NR
latex may avoid such disadvantages because rubber particles in
NR latex is well dispersed (Lyons 1964). It was found that using

CONTACT  Yuhong Wang  ceyhwang@polyu.edu.hk 

© 2015 Taylor & Francis
 2    Y. Wen et al.

Table 1. The physical properties of the base asphalt.

Description Unit Result Method
Specific gravity (25 °C) 1.039 ASTM D70
Softening point, R&B °C 46.2 IP 58
Penetration (25 °C) 0.1 mm 68 ASTM D5
Retained penetration after TFO Test % >52 ASTM D1754
Flash point °C >232 ASTM D92
Ductility (25 °C) cm >100 ASTM D113
Ductility after TFO Test (25 °C) cm >50 ASTM D1754
Loss on heating % <0.20 IP 45
Soblubility in 1,1,1 - Trichloroethane % >99.50 ASTM D2042
Figure 1.  Chemical structure of cis-1, 4-polyisoprene in NR latex extracted from Viscosity (135 °C，300 mmHg Vac) Pas 0.413 ASTM D2171
Hevea brasiliensis. Wax content % 1.6 DIN 52015

NR latex as an asphalt binder modifier also provides the benefits Table 2. The main properties of NR latex.
including the improved resistance to rutting and thermal crack- Contents name Unit Result
ing of asphalt pavements (Ruggles 2004). Total solids content % ≥61.50
Since the early studies, there is a very little literature on NR Dry rubber content % ≥60.00
latex-modified asphalt binder. This may be partially due to the Non-rubber content % ≤2.00
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Ammonia content (on total % 0.65–0.75

fact that a number of synthetic polymers, e.g. SBS, EVA, SBR
and polyolefin, are widely produced and promoted (Ruggles
2004). In those early studies, the properties of asphalt binders
modified by NR latex were only assessed by some traditional test
methods, including penetration, ring and ball softening point,
ductility and Fraass brittle point. The rheological properties of
NR latex-modified asphalt binders at different temperatures
and loading conditions were not characterised. Consequently,
high- and low-temperature performance, durability and work-
ability of the modified binders in asphalt mixtures cannot be
well predicted. This limits the adoption of the NR latex-modified
asphalt in places that use new binder specifications such as the
Superpave® system (Ruggles 2004). Therefore, the objectives of
this study are: (1) to characterise the performance-related prop-
erties of NR latex-modified asphalt binder at different tempera-
tures and loading conditions, (2) to evaluate the property changes
of the modified binders with different NR latex content and to
identify the optimum content and (3) to examine the micro-
scopic morphology of the NR latex-modified asphalt binder to
gain insights into the states of NR latex in the binder and the
possible working mechanisms. A better understanding of the NR
latex-modified asphalt is anticipated to contribute to its wider
acceptance by the highway paving industry.
2.  Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
Base asphalt (penetration grade 60/70) from Shell Hong Kong
Limited Company was used to prepare the modified asphalt
binder. The physical properties of the base asphalt are shown
in Table 1.
NR latex was provided by Thai Rubber Latex Corporation
(Thailand) Public Company Limited. The main properties are
shown in Table 2.
2.2.  Sample preparation and ageing treatments
Before adding NR latex into the base asphalt, the predetermined
amount of latex (3, 5, 7 and 9% of the total mass of the modified
binder) was poured into a container for easy measurement. After
the base asphalt was preheated to 150 ± 5 °C in a nitrogen blanket,
weight)
pH value – ≤11.00
KOH number – 0.85
Volatile fatty acid number ≤0.05
M.S.T. @ 55% TS. s ≥650
Specific gravity at 25 °C – ≥0.94
Magnesium content (on solids) ppm ≤60.00
about 6–8 g of NR latex was added into the base asphalt each
time until the predetermined amount was fully added. The NR
latex contains water and a small amount of ammonia gas, which
transforms rapidly into vapour in the hot asphalt and generates
a large number of bubbles. Hence, a steel rod was used to stir
the mixture rapidly during the process of adding NR latex. After
that, the modified asphalt was blended with a high-speed shear
mixer at 4500 r/min continuously for 40 min at 155 ± 5 °C and
in the nitrogen blanket. To ensure that the effects of treatment
(heating and blending) do not affect the comparison results, the
base asphalt binder was treated by the same procedure and served
as the control binder.
The control and NR latex-modified binders were short-term
aged using a rolling thin-film oven (RTFO) at 163 °C for 85 min
in accordance with ASTM D2872. Subsequently, they were
treated in a pressure ageing vessel (PAV) at 100 °C for 20 h to
simulate long-term ageing in accordance with ASTM D6521. For
the ease of discussion, the samples modified with different latex
content were coded: Base asphalt was coded as N0, asphalt binder
modified with 3% of NR was codes as N3, binder modified with
5% of NR was coded as N5 and so on. The maximum proportion
of NR latex used was 9%, designated as N9.
2.3.  Test and evaluation methods
Laboratory experiments were carried out to evaluate the phys-
ical properties of asphalt binders modified with different NR
latex content. Rotational viscosity test was used to assess the
workability of the modified binders during asphalt mixture
production. The criterion specified in the Superpave® specifica-
tion (<3.0 Pas at 135 °C) was followed. If the workability does
not meet the requirement, the binder was not further tested.
The dynamic shear rheological properties were tested using a

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Figure 2. Flow chart of the experiment procedures.
dynamic shear rheometer (DSR). The complex shear modulus G∗
and phase angle (δ) were used to calculate the rutting resistance
factor G∗ ∕sin 𝛿 and fatigue resistance factor G∗ sin 𝛿 as specified
in Superpave®; shear storage modulus G′ and shear loss modu-
lus G′′ were chosen to characterise the temperature sensitivity
of the binders; multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) test was
used to evaluate the elastic recovery and rutting resistance of the
binders. The low-temperature properties were characterised with
creep stiffness (S) and m-value using a bending beam rheometer
(BBR). Based on the above tests, the performance grade (PG) of
the binders was determined. The fluorescence microscope was
chosen to characterise the morphology and dispersion state of
the NR latex in the binders. Moreover, the atomic force micro-
scope (AFM) was used to examine the morphology of the mod-
ified binders in the nanoscale. Figure 2 summarises the test and
evaluation procedures.
2.3.1.  Rotational viscosity
The rotational viscosities of non-aged base and NR latex-mod-
ified asphalt binders were tested using a Brookfield viscometer
(Model DV-II, Brookfield Engineering Inc., USA) at 135 °C in
accordance with ASTM D4402/D4402 M. Asphalt binder was
heated in an oven until it becomes liquid enough to pour. About
8–11 g of binder was poured into the preheated sample cham-
ber and then was placed in the thermal container. The spindle
was then inserted into the chamber. After the temperature of
the asphalt binder was raised to the desired temperature level
(135 ± 1 °C), the sample was conditioned for 15 min to reach
temperature equilibrium. At the beginning of the test, the speed
of rotation was set at 20 rpm. If the torque reading fell below 10%
of the instrument capacity, the speed of rotation was increased
to 50 or 100 rpm to ensure that the torque reading was between
10 and 98 % of the instrument capacity. The spindle was rotated
at a specific speed for 5  min before the viscosity values were
measured three times with 1 min interval. The average value was
calculated as the rotational viscosity.
International Journal of Pavement Engineering   3
2.3.2.  Dynamic shear tests
The dynamic shear rheological properties and temperature sen-
sitivities of the non-aged and RTFO-aged asphalt binders were
examined using a DSR (TA AR2000). The dynamic rheological
properties were characterised by the complex modulus G∗ and
phase angle (δ), while temperature sensitivities were character-
ized by the slopes of shear storage modulus G′ and shear loss
modulus G′ vs. test temperature. Higher G∗ value represents the
greater resistance of the binder to total deformation, while higher
δ value indicates that the binder shows more viscous behaviour.
As for the slopes of G′ and G∗ vs. temperature, the steeper the
slope is, the more sensitive of a binder to temperature change.
These parameters were measured under the strain-controlled
mode at a constant frequency of 10  rad/s in accordance with
ASTM D7175. The test temperature ranged from 36 to 72  °C
with 12 °C intervals, and a 25 mm diameter stainless steel plate
with 1 mm gap were adopted.
In addition, the rutting resistance factor G∗ ∕sin 𝛿 was used to
determine the high-temperature PG of the non-aged and RTFO-
aged binders. Fatigue resistance factor G∗ sin 𝛿 was used to eval-
uate the fatigue resistance property of the PAV-aged binders.
The tests were conducted in accordance with AASHTO M 320.
2.3.3.  Multiple stress creep recovery test
MSCR test was used to evaluate the binder’s elastic recovery
and resistance to permanent deformation at high temperature.
Compared with G∗ ∕sin 𝛿, MSCR test is believed to be more
appropriate to evaluate the resistance to permanent deforma-
tion (rutting) for polymer-modified binders, and accelerated field
tests also show a better correlation between MSCR results and
field rutting (Anderson et al. 2010, Adorjányi and Füleki 2011).
In this study, MSCR tests were conducted on non-aged and
RTFO-aged binders using the DSR at 60 °C in accordance with
ASTM D7405. The tests were conducted with 25-mm parallel
plate with 1 mm gap under two different stress levels (100 and
3200 Pa). At each stress level, the samples were subjected to 10
 4    Y. Wen et al.
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Figure 3. Schematic diagram of the MSCR test: (a) loading and unloading sequence
and (b) A typical MSCR test cycle at creep stress of 100 Pa followed by 3200 Pa.
cycles of creep and recovery. Each cycle includes 1 s of creep
stress followed by 9 s of recovery. Ten creep and recovery cycles
were carried out at 100 Pa stress level followed by another 10
cycles at 3200 Pa stress level. The schematic diagram of MSCR
test is shown in Figure 3.
Three parameters including the average per cent recovery
(R), non-recoverable creep compliance (Jnr) and stress sensi-
tivity parameter (Jnr−diff ), were used to evaluate the high-tem-
perature performance of the binders at different stress levels.
R, used to evaluate the ability of recovery to the original shape
after repeated loading, was calculated by Equation (1). Higher
R value represents better recovery ability. Jnr, used to represent
the ability of resisting permanent deformation under repeated
loading, was calculated by Equation (2). A higher Jnr value means
lower resistance to permanent deformation. For polymer-modi-
fied binders, the strain response is sensitive to the stress level of
the test. Such sensitivity is assessed by the parameter, Jnr−diff, as
calculated by Equation (3). A higher Jnr−diff value implies that the
binder is more sensitive to changes in shear stress.
Sum((𝜀1 − 𝜀10 )∕𝜀1 )
R=
10
Sum(𝜀10 )
Jnr =
10
(3)
(( ) ) ( )
Jnr–diff = Jnr 3200 − Jnr 100 × 100 ∕ Jnr 100
where ε1 is the strain value at the end of the recovery portion
(after 1.0 s) of each cycle (see Figure 3(a)); 𝜀10 is non-recoverable
strain of each cycle (see Figure 3(a)); Jnr100 is non-recoverable
creep compliance of each cycle at creep stress of 100  Pa; and
Jnr3200 is non-recoverable creep compliance of each cycle at
creep stress of 3200 Pa.
2.3.4.  Low-temperature creep test
The stiffness and relaxation properties of the PAV-aged binders
at low temperature were evaluated using a BBR at −6 and −12 °C
in accordance with AASHTO M 320. Two specimens (125 mm
length, 12.5 mm width and 6.25 mm thickness) for each binder
type were prepared with PAV-aged binders. The specimens were
conditioned at the test temperature for 1 h before the test. During
the BBR test, a constant load of 100 g (0.98 N) was applied onto
the specimen. The deflections at the centre point of the beam at
8, 15, 30, 60, 120 and 240 s were recorded. The creep stiffness (S)
and creep rate (m-value) were calculated based on the data at 60
s. S- and m-value were also used to determine the low-tempera-
ture PG grade in accordance with AASHTO M 320 (S < 300 MPa
and m-value >0.30).
2.3.5.  Characterisation of the morphology and dispersion of
the NR latex in asphalt binder
The fluorescence microscope is a useful tool for investigating
the morphology and state of dispersion of polymers in asphalt
binder (Chen et al. 2002, López-Moro et al. 2013). In the study,
base asphalt and the binder modified with 7% of NR latex were
examined using a Nikon Eclipse Ti epifluorescence. The flu-
orescence microscope samples were prepared using the ‘drop
method’. The binder was heated to the flow state and was then
dropped in the centre of a glass slide. A cover glass slide was
then used to cover the drop, followed by exerting a force on the
cover glass in order to obtain a smooth surface of asphalt binder
for observation. Finally, the sample was cooled down to room
temperature for test.
AFM was also used to examine the morphology of the base
asphalt binder and NR latex-modified binder at the nanoscale.
In preparing the AFM specimens, 1.0 g of asphalt binder was
dissolved in 50 mL of dichloromethane. The binder solution was
spin cast onto the microscope slide and was left in the air for 24 h
for solvent evaporation. The film thickness approximately ranges
from 0.2 to 3.5 μm.
3.  Results and discussion
3.1.  Rotational viscosity
The effect of NR latex content on the rotational viscosity of the
binders is shown in Figure 4. As can be seen in the figure, the
(1)
viscosity values of the binders increase approximately linearly
with the increase of NR latex content, ranging from 0.4 Pas for
base asphalt to 3.2 Pas for the binder modified with 9% of NR
latex. The viscosity value of the binder with 9% of latex is greater
(2)
than 3.0 Pas, which is the maximum allowable viscosity value in

Figure 4. Effect of NR latex content on the rotational viscosity value at 135 °C.
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Figure 5. Effect of NR latex concentration on complex modulus for (a) non-aged
binders and (b) RTFO-aged binders at different temperatures.
the Superpave® specification. Therefore, the binder with 9% of
latex was not further evaluated.
3.2.  Dynamic rheological properties
The log G* values of the non-aged and RTFO-aged binders at
four different temperatures are shown in Figure 5. It shows that
the log G* values decrease with the increase of temperature for
all the binders. The sensitivity of log G* value to temperature,
however, appears to be affected by the NR latex content. As more
NR latex is added, the range of the log G* value between the low
International Journal of Pavement Engineering   5
Figure 6. Effect of NR latex content on δ for (a) non-aged binders and (b) RTFO-
aged binders at different temperatures.
temperature (36 °C) and high temperature (72 °C) is narrowed,
indicating that the addition of NR latex reduces the tempera-
ture sensitivity of the modified binder. In addition, at the high
temperature (60 or 72 °C) ends, log G* values increase obviously
with the dosage of NR latex. The increase in G* translates to
the increase in the stiffness of asphalt mixture, which further
improves its rutting resistance capacity.
Phase angle (δ) is generally considered to be more sensitive
to the chemical structure and the modification of asphalt binder
than G* (Airey 2003). The δ values of non-aged and RTFO-aged
binders are presented in Figure 6. As can be seen from the figure,
the δ values increase with temperature and dramatically decrease
with the dosage of NR latex at the same temperature. This indi-
cates that NR latex modification improves the elastic response of
the binder. The increased elastic response (reduced phase angles)
may be attributed to the elastic network of the polymer network
(Goodrich 1991).
3.3.  Temperature sensitivity
For the non-aged binders, the logarithms of G′ and G′′ vs. tem-
peratures are plotted in Figures 7 and 8, respectively. For the
RTFO-aged binders, the logarithms of G′ and G′′ vs. temperatures
are plotted in Figures 9 and 10, respectively. Linear regression
equations were developed and shown in the figures. The absolute
values of the slopes of the linear regression equations are given
in Table 3. The slopes reveal the temperature sensitivities of the
binders: the steeper the slope, the more sensitive of a binder to
 6    Y. Wen et al.
Figure 7. The logarithm of the storage modulus of non-aged binders.
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Figure 8. The logarithm of the loss modulus of non-aged binders.
temperature changes. As shown in Table 3, for both non-aged
and RTFO-aged binders, the temperature sensitivities of both G′
and G′′ decrease with the increase of NR latex content (consistent
with the trend shown in G*). The temperature sensitivities of the
RTFO-aged binders are slightly greater than those of the non-
aged binders at the same NR latex content. This implies that (1)
the addition of NR latex reduces the temperature sensitivities of
the binders; (2) RTFO ageing has some effects on the temper-
ature sensitivities of the elastic and viscous portion of the NR
latex-modified asphalt binders. 7 percent of NR latex results in
the minimum temperature sensitivity.
3.4.  High-temperature properties and elastic recovery
The high-temperature properties and elastic recovery of NR
latex-modified asphalt binders were measured by MSCR test at
60 °C, including non-recoverable creep compliance Jnr, average
Table 3. Regression slope values of non-aged and RTFO-aged binders.
Sample Abs. value of the slope for the logarithm of G′
Non-aged
N0 13.817
N3 10.924
N5 9.405
N7 9.151
Figure 9. The logarithm of the storage modulus of RTFO-aged binders.
Figure 10. The logarithm of the loss modulus of RTFO-aged binders.
per cent recovery (R) and stress sensitivity. The full-scale test at
the US Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Accelerated
Loading Facility showed that the Jnr value had a much higher
correlation (R2 = 0.817) with the measured asphalt mixture rut-
ting than the traditional G∗ ∕sin 𝛿 value (R2 = 0.126) did (FHWA
2011). In addition, the MSCR test provides information on the
delayed elastic response of the asphalt binder. Higher R values
are ‘generally associated with higher values of elastic recovery
and force ductility ratio (Anderson et al. 2011),’ while higher
ductility has been shown to be associated with fatigue resistance
capacity (Ruan et al. 2003, Wang et al. 2014). Stress sensitivity
evaluates the effectiveness of modifiers at different stress levels.
This may shed lights on how robust the modifier behaves under
different loading conditions. The shear strains of the different
non-aged binders in the creep-recovery loading cycles are shown
in Figure 11, while the shear strains of the RTFO-aged binders
are shown in Figure 12. The figures clearly indicate that NR latex
Abs. value of the slope for the logarithm of G′′
RTFO-aged Non-aged RTFO-aged
13.312 10.005 9.560
11.303 8.928 9.313
10.165 8.363 8.793
9.473 8.244 8.210
 International Journal of Pavement Engineering   7

improves the elastic recoveries of the binders. In particular, the

elastic recovery of the binder modified with 7% of NR latex is
much higher than that of the other binders.
The results of Jnr and R values are shown in Figures 13 and
14, respectively. The figures show that the Jnr values decrease
dramatically with the increase of NR latex content, while the
R values follow the opposite trend. This indicates that NR latex
modification improves binder’s resistance to deformation and
helps it recover to the original state after the deformation occurs.
For instance, the Jnr(100) and R100 values of the non-aged binder
modified with 7% of NR latex are 5.4 × 10−4 kPa−1 and 43.6%,
respectively, corresponding to a decrease of 87% and increase
of 261 times respectively in comparison with those of non-aged
binder. It can also be noticed that Jnr(3200) values are slightly
greater than Jnr(100) and the difference between them gradu-
ally enlarges with the increase of NR latex content. In addition,
Figure 11. The MSCR test results for non-aged binders at 60 °C. R100 values are greater than R3200 values and the difference
between them shows the similar trend as that between Jnr(100)
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and Jnr(3200) values. This implies that the behaviour of the

­modified asphalt binders depends on their stress state.
Figure 13 shows that the Jnr−diff values of the non-aged binders
increase with the increase of NR latex content, indicating that
NR latex results in greater stress sensitivity and obvious non-lin-
ear behaviours of the binders. For the RTFO-aged binders, the
Jnr−diff values of the modified binders are higher than those of the
non-modified binders; however, the Jnr–diff values of the modified
binders do not increase with the increase of NR latex content.
This implies that RTFO ageing reduces the stress sensitivity of
NR latex-modified binders. The possible reason will be discussed
later with the fluorescent and AFM images. The Jnr–diff values of all
the binders meet the AASHTO MP 19-10 requirement (<75%)
for stress-sensitive asphalt binders.

3.5.  Fatigue resistance properties

The fatigue factor G∗ sin 𝛿 is believed to reflect fatigue resistance
Figure 12. The MSCR test results for RTFO-aged binders at 60 °C.
of asphalt binder in the Superpave® specification. Figure 16

Figure 13. Jnr and R of non-aged binders at 60 °C.

 8    Y. Wen et al.
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Figure 14. Jnr and R of RTFO-aged binders at 60 °C.

Figure 15. Jnr−diff for non-aged and RTFO-aged binders at 60 °C.

Figure 17. Effect of NR latex content on (a) creep stiffness and (b) m-value for PAV-
aged binders at −6 °C.

3.6.  Low-temperature properties

The low-temperature properties of the binders were evaluated by
S- and m-values obtained in BBR. The effect of NR latex on the
Figure 16. Effect of NR latex content on G*sin δ of PAV-aged binders.
low-temperature properties of the binders at −6 and −12 °C was
investigated and plotted in Figures 17 and 18, respectively. As
shows that the G∗ sin 𝛿 values of the NR latex-modified binders
shown in the figures, the S-values of NR latex-modified binders
are less than that of the base binder. Therefore, the addition of
decrease with the increase of NR latex content, while the m-value
NR latex improves the fatigue resistance of the binder. No clear
does not have apparent charges. The S-value indicates how stiff an
trend, however, is shown between the content of NR latex and
asphalt binder is at low temperature. The m-value measures how
the G∗ sin 𝛿 value.
quickly the binder relieves stress through plastic flow. For better

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Figure 18. Effect of NR latex content on (a) creep stiffness and (b) m-value for PAV-
aged binders at −12 °C.
low-temperature performance, the asphalt binder should not be
too stiff and should be able to relax the built-up stress at a fast
rate. Therefore, the addition of NR latex a­ pparently improves the
resistance of the modified asphalt binder to ­thermal cracking.
3.7.  PG grades of the binders
The high-temperature PG grades were evaluated by the G∗ sin 𝛿
values of the binders with different ageing states, as shown in
Table 4. The upper specification temperature of N0, N3, N5 and
N7 can be graded as PG 64, PG 64, PG 70 and PG 70, respectively.
As shown in Figures 17 and 18 the S- and m-value of all the
binders meet the requirements (S ≤ 300 MPa and m-value ≥ 0.30)
at −6 °C, but their m-value failed at −12 °C. Therefore, the bind-
ers can be graded as PG XX-16 in accordance with AASHTO
M320. At the intermediate temperature range, the G∗ sin 𝛿 values
of the PAV-aged binders at the specified test temperature should
be less than or equal to 5000 kPa. Considering this additional
criterion, the final PG grade of the N0, N3, N5 and N7 binder is
determined to be PG 64-10, PG 64-16, PG 70-16 and PG 70-16,
Table 4. G*/sin δ values of non-aged (Low limit: 1.0 kPa) and RTFO-aged (Low limit: 2.2 kPa) binders at high temperature.
Sample
Non-aged N0
N3
N5
N7
RTFO-aged N0
N3
N5
N7
International Journal of Pavement Engineering   9
respectively. The use of 3% of concentrated NR latex results in a
6 °C improvement at the low-temperature PG grade, while the
use of 5% of the latex and above results in a 6 °C improvement
at both the low and high temperatures.
3.8.  Characterisation of the binders in fluorescence
microscope and AFM
Figure 14 shows the micrographs of base asphalt binder and NR
latex-modified binder (7%) observed in 5 h after sample prepa-
ration. The base asphalt demonstrates a uniform fluorescence
response, whereas the modified binder shows extensive network
structures. The network structures are believed to contribute to
the enhanced performance of the modified binder. (Brule et al.
1988) found that the interlocked phase between polymer and
asphalt was an ideal microstructure for polymer-modified
asphalt to show good performance. The interlocking of the NR
latex and asphalt is obvious in Figure 19. At high magnifica-
tion level (Figure 19(e)), the modified asphalt binder shows an
interesting pattern made of a large number of bubbles. These
bubbles were formed due to heating the moisture in the latex
by the fluorescence microscope. The formation of the bubbles
helps reduce the viscosity of the modified binder and facilitates
the modification process.
The AFM topography images of the base and modified
binders before and after RTFO treatment are shown in Figure
20. Before RTFO treatment, both the base and modified bind-
ers show similar surface features, including some protuber-
ances and slight surface depressions. After RTFO treatment,
although the neat and modified binders exhibit some similar
surface features, the modified one shows a large number of well-
dispersed small particles (red colour). The AFM phase image
of Figure 20(d) is shown in Figure 21 along with the sectional
view of a few random selected particles. The phase image of
asphalt binder to a certain extent reflects the micromechani-
cal property variation of the binder (Wang et al. 2015). Figure
21 shows that the small particles generate clear contrasts with
the background; therefore, they are a distinguishable phase in
the binder. An extensive review of existing literature (e.g. Jäger
et al. 2004, Jäger et al. 2007, Pauli et al. 2011, Wang et al. 2015)
on asphalt binder AFM images indicates that the features shown
in Figures 20(d) and 21 are unique. Therefore, they are likely to
be NR particles.
Figures 19–21 reveal some insights of the NR latex-modified
asphalt binder, which may help explain its behaviours in the
conventional binder tests and the MSCR tests. In the rotational
viscosity test, the modified binder was heated to 135 °C. At such
temperature, the residual moisture introduced to the asphalt
G*/sin δ (kPa)
64 °C 70 °C 76 °C 82 °C
1.57 0.73 – –
2.36 1.18 0.55 –
3.04 1.57 0.84 –
4.57 2.42 1.35 0.79
2.38 1.09 – –
3.74 1.78 – –
4.86 2.42 1.26 –
6.93 3.51 1.84 –
 10    Y. Wen et al.

(a) Base asphalt with 100 × magnification (b) Base asphalt with 200 × magnification
Downloaded by [University of Lethbridge] at 12:25 11 November 2015

(c) Modified binder with 40 × magnification

(d) Modified binder with 100 × magnification

(e) Modified binder with 200 × magnification

Figure 19. Fluorescent images of neat and modified binders at different magnification levels.

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(a) Non-aged base asphalt binder
(c) RTFO-aged base asphalt binder
Figure 20. AFM height images of neat and modified binders at two ageing levels.
binder by NR latex evaporates and foams the binder, hence
reducing its viscosity. This process is shown in the fluorescent
images as the microscope heats the sample. The maximum NR
latex content was determined to be 7% based on the rotational
viscosity value. This corresponds to about 4.2% of rubber solid
and 3.8% of water. A previous study recommends the use of 1%
of foaming water for neat asphalt binder and 3% of water for
SBS polymer-modified asphalt binder (Yu et al. 2013). Therefore,
International Journal of Pavement Engineering   11
(b) NR latex modified asphalt binder
(d) RTFO-aged, modified asphalt binder
water content in 7% of NR latex is close to the water content
for creating warm mix of polymer-modified binder as recom-
mended in literature (Yu et al. 2013). Because the non-aged,
modified binders contain a large number of moisture and likely
cavities created by the foaming process, they are more sensitive
to shear stress. Such sensitivity may increase with the increase
of NR latex content (Figure 5). Conversely, the RTFO-ageing
process may cause the evaporation of a large amount of moisture
 12    Y. Wen et al.
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Figure 21. AFM phase image of the RTFO-aged, NR latex-modified asphalt binder with sectional view of selected particles.
and make the binders more consistent; therefore, the resultant
binders become less sensitive to shear stress, as shown the rela-
tively stable Jnr−diff value for the RTFO-aged binders. In practice,
a large portion of water disappears during mixture production,
transportation and construction. This may reduce the influence
of foaming water after construction. Nevertheless, residual water
in the mixture may pose a concern on its moisture susceptibility.
The topic has received wide discussion in warm mix research. For
instance, laboratory tests of asphalt pavement cores in Texas, US
indicate that moisture resistance of WMA during its early life is
inferior compared to HMA but they perform equally after one
summer (Cucalon and Lorena 2013). The moisture susceptibility
of asphalt mixture using NR latex-modified binder needs to be
studied in depth in the future.
The AFM images show that the particles in the NR latex-mod-
ified asphalt binder are generally less than 50  nm. They are
elastic nanoparticles well dispersed in the base asphalt binder.
Compared to crumb rubber-modified asphalt (CRMA), the
NR particle is much smaller in size. A recent article discusses
the stability of nanoparticles in a suspending medium such as
asphalt binder from the perspective of the balance between the
Brownian force and gravity force (Wang et al. 2015). It is con-
cluded that smaller particles are beneficial for the stability of the
asphalt binder. Therefore, the NR-modified asphalt binder the-
oretically has a longer shelf life (compared to CRMA), although
the actual effect needs to be further evaluated in field studies.
The shelf life of the NR latex-modified asphalt is an important
factor in field applications. In NR-producing countries, NR
latex-modified asphalt binder may be produced in central facil-
ities and then stored on remote sites for a relatively long period.
4. Conclusions
NR latex has the potential to be used as an effective bio-modifier
of neat asphalt. This study systematically evaluated the rheolog-
ical properties and microstructures of asphalt binders modified
with different content of NR latex. The following conclusions are
drawn based on the analysis of experimental results:

(1) The rotational viscosity (at 135 °C) of the binders rises
with the increase of NR latex content. Therefore, binder
viscosity requirement in asphalt mixture production
imposes a limit on the maximum feasible NR latex con-
tent. The maximum content was found to be 7% of the
total mass of the chosen asphalt binder in this study.
(2) The G* values of the non-aged and RTFO-aged binders
grow with the increase of the NR latex content, espe-
cially at high test temperatures (60 and 72 °C), while
the δ values follow the opposite trend. The addition of
NR latex apparently increases asphalt binder’s complex
shear stiffness and elastic response. Tests according to
the Superpave® procedure show that the addition of
NR latex improves binder’s resistance to rutting, ther-
mal cracking and fatigue, resulting in an improvement
of the PG grade of the modified binder.
(3) The temperature sensitivity of the binders, as repre-
sented by the slopes of the logarithms of G′ and G′′ vs.
Downloaded by [University of Lethbridge] at 12:25 11 November 2015
temperature, suggests that NR latex reduces tempera-
ture sensitivity.
(4) MSCR test indicates that the use of NR latex-modi-
fied asphalt binder may effectively improve the rutting
resistance and recovery capacity of the mixture. RTFO
ageing apparently reduces the sensitivity of the modi-
fied binders to test stress change.
(5) Fluorescence microscope images show that an exten-
sive network of microstructures mixed with bubbles is
formed in the modified binder under heat, suggesting
that moisture in latex may assist viscosity reduction
during binder modification and mixture production.
AFM images show that most NR particles are small
(<50  nm) in size and uniformly dispersed in base
asphalt. This may improve the shelf life of the NR
latex-modified asphalt binder.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
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