Effect of emulsifying agent on rheological properties of bitumen emulsion modified with different techniques of adding SBR latex polymer
Hassan Ziari, Mahmood Reza Keymanesh, Hossein Zalnezhad
Abstract
Improving the characteristics of bitumen emulsion is among important methods for the enhancement of cold asphalt mixture properties. Thus the researchers usually focus on different additives, polymers and also manufacturing methods to improve the quality of bitumen emulsion. Accordingly, in this study, the characteristics of different bitumen emulsions modified by Styrene–Butadiene Rubber (SBR) latex using various manufacturing techniques including co-milling, soap pre-batching and post-blending were investigated. Actually, the design procedure to optimise manufacturing of Polymer Modified Bitumen Emulsion (PMBE) was determined for modified cold mix asphalt using two emulsifiers. The results of basic tests, Linear Amplitude Sweep test (LAS) at moderate temperatures, Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR) at high temperatures and some traditional tests showed that each type of emulsifier had different behaviours in each method of polymer modification. In fact, the process of selecting suitable emulsifier and manufacturing method of PMBE enhanced rutting resistance at high temperature (MSCR), fatigue resistance at moderate temperature (LAS) and other physical properties. The findings indicated that the results of MQ3 samples were better than CECA samples in the most important parameters. Totally, co-milling in CECA emulsifier and soap pre-batching in MQ3 emulsifier also resulted in the best performance in physical properties, fatigue performance and rutting resistance.