Performance Assessment of a Warm Asphalt Binder in the Presence of Water by Using Surface Free Energy Concepts and Nanoscale Techniques
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 5
Abstract
Warm mix asphalt (WMA) has been gaining attention in the past few years because it offers several advantages over traditional hot mix asphalt (HMA) during production and placement. The advantages include: (1) reduced energy consumption; (2) reduced emissions; (3) reduced binder aging; and (4) extended construction season in temperate climates. Moisture damage in a compacted HMA/WMA mixture can be defined as the separation of the asphalt binder from the surface of the aggregate in the presence of water. In this study, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to investigate the effects of water on the adhesion and cohesion forces in three asphalt binders (one HMA, two WMA) using four different cantilever tips with different materials. AFM is a microscope that can be used to makes high quality three-dimensional images for smooth and level surfaces. The asphalt binders were the HMA PG 70-22 binder; PG 70-22 mixed with a proprietary Sasol wax at 4% by weight to make a WMA binder; and PG 70-22 with a proprietary white powdered zeolite (similar to Aspha-min) at 5% by weight. The four different cantilever tip materials used in this study were: (1) coated with a carboxylic acid functional group () to measure the cohesion forces between two asphalt molecules; (2) (representing calcite in limestone) particle cantilever tip to measure the adhesion forces between asphalt binder molecules and an aggregate molecule; (3) Ohio limestone tip to measure the adhesion forces between asphalt binder molecules and limestone; and (4) particle tip (representing sandstone) to measure the adhesion forces between asphalt binder molecules and sand. Several researchers have used AFM to examine the surface free energy of adhesion or cohesion between various substances. In this study, AFM has been shown to be useful tool to evaluate the strength of bonding between three types of asphalt binder on four types of surfaces in the presence and absence of water. The adhesion/cohesion energy of warm binders was similar or better than the adhesion/cohesion energy of hot binder by using different cantilever tips. The performance of the Sasol wax was higher than the performance of the proprietary white powdered zeolite using certain cantilever tips which can be concluded from indirect tensile strength (ITS) results.
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Acknowledgments
The writers like to express sincere gratitude toward Annette G. Smith, project leader of Warm Mix Asphalt Technology Group at PQ Corporation for providing a sample of the Advera additive. Lynn Smith, senior technical sales of Novascan Technologies, provided assistance in selecting and manufacturing tips. Jeffrey Rack, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Ohio University for his assistance and access to an AFM. Special thanks go to Yuhuan Jin, a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Ohio University, for his assistance with using the AFM. Special thanks go to Yoon-Seok Choi, associate director for research in the Multiphase Institute at Ohio University, for his assistance in SEM scanning.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26 • Issue 5 • May 2014
Pages: 803 - 811
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 11, 2012
Accepted: Jun 3, 2013
Published online: Jun 28, 2013
Discussion open until: Nov 28, 2013
Published in print: May 1, 2014
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