4/3/2021

Materials for Highway Facility

Lectures # 12

Additives & Warm Mix Asphalt

Lecturer: Dr. Hardy Kamal Karim

Ph.D in Highway Engineering
University of Sulaimani
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Additives

• Additives are used to improve the properties of asphalt or to

add special properties to the asphalt concrete mixtures.

• Laboratory tests are usually performed and field performance is

observed in order to evaluate the effect of the additives and to
justify their cost.

• The effects of using additives should be carefully evaluated;

otherwise premature pavement failure might result.

• A relatively recent development in asphalt paving is warm mix,

which uses modifiers, or a modified process, to produce asphalt
concrete at lower temperatures than conventional hot mix.

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Fillers
• Several types of fillers, such as crushed fines, Portland cement,
lime, fly ash, and carbon black, can be added to asphalt
concrete.

• Fillers are used to satisfy gradation requirements of materials

passing the 0.075 mm (No. 200) sieve; to increase stability; to
improve bond between aggregates and asphalt; or to fill the
voids and thus reduce the asphalt required.

carbon black Flyash 3

Extenders

• Extenders such as sulfur and lignin are used to reduce

the asphalt requirements, thus reducing the cost.

sulfur lignin

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Polymer Modified Asphalt (PMA)

• Polymer modifiers include both the rubber and plastic category

shown in next slides.

• Rubber has been used in asphalt concrete mixture in the form

of natural rubber, styrene–butadiene (SBR), styrene butadiene–
styrene (SBS), or recycled tire rubber.

• Rubber increases elasticity and stiffness of the mix and

increases the bond between asphalt and aggregates.

• SBS is the most common modifier for producing PMA.

• Scrap rubber tires can be added to the asphalt cement (wet

method) or added as crumb rubber to the aggregates (dry
method).
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styrene–butadiene (SBR)

Scrap rubber tires 6

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• Plastics have been used to improve certain properties of

asphalt. Plastics used include polyethylene, polypropylene,
ethyl–vinyl–acetate (EVA), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

• They increase the stiffness of the mix, thus reducing the

rutting potential.

• Plastics also may reduce the temperature susceptibility of

asphalt and improve its performance at low temperatures.

• The introduction of Superpave and the associated

Performance Grade binder specifications increased the
emphasis on the use of materials that improve the long term
performance of asphalt pavements. This has lead to an
increase in the use of polymer modified asphalts, PMA.

• These modifiers have two primary advantages:

1) altering the temperature-viscosity behavior of the asphalt and
2) improving the durability of asphalt concrete.

• Styrene butadiene styrene, SBS, is the predominant material

used for modifying asphalt.

• SBS blended with asphalt forms two phases, a polymer rich

phase and an asphalt rich phase.

• The polymer-rich phase swells as it absorbs aromatics from

the asphalt.

• The absorption of the aromatics from the asphalt cement

limits the amount of SBS that can be added beneficially.

• The amount of SBS used to modify asphalt is typically 2 to 6 %.

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• SBS modification improves both the coating of the aggregates for

improved durability and the elasticity of the binder, which benefits
the rutting, fatigue and thermal cracking characteristics of the
binder.

• Research has demonstrated that polymer modified binders

provide measurable benefits that contribute to the performance of
pavements. The improved performance has been documented in
several field trials dating back over 30 years.

• While the improved performance would benefit all pavements,

polymer modification adds approximately 10 to 15% to paving
costs.

• Hence most agencies limit the use of polymer modified asphalt to

high traffic and high axle load applications where the additional
costs are justified based on life-cycle cost.
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Antistripping Agents

• Antistripping agents are used to improve the bond between

asphalt cement and aggregates, especially for water-susceptible
mixtures.

• Lime is the most commonly used antistripping agent, and can

be added as a filler or a lime slurry and mixed with the
aggregates.

• Portland cement can be used as an alternative to lime..

Others
• Other additives, such as fibers, oxidants, antioxidants, and
hydrocarbons, have been used to modify certain asphalt
properties’ tensile strength and stiffness.
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Warm Mix

• Warm-mix asphalt is the generic term for a variety of

technologies that allow the producers of hot-mix asphalt
pavement material to lower the temperatures at which the
material is mixed and placed on the road.

• Reductions of 25 to 50 degrees C are common, which offers the

following benefits:
 Less energy and fuel consumption to heat the mix
 Lower greenhouse gases
 Less oxidation of the asphalt binder
 Pave at lower temperatures
 Longer haul distances are possible
 Extending the paving season since the asphalt can be
compacted at lower temperatures

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• Warm mix technology initially developed in Europe, but the

technology and implementation are developing rapidly in
the U.S. due to the potential advantages of warm mixes.

• The Federal Highway Administration is working with states

and the industry for the development of warm mix, with
the following objectives:
 Use existing hot-mix asphalt plants and placing equipment
 Meet existing standards for hot mix asphalt specifications
 Focus on dense-graded mixes for wearing courses
 Warm mix quality equals hot mix quality

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• Several warm mix technologies and producers are competing:

 Emulsion Technology
 Evotherm—Mead Westvaco

 Mix additives
 Aspha-min—Eurovia
 Sasobit Sasol Int./Moore and Munger
 Rediset—Akzo-Noble

 Materials Processing
 WAM-Foam Shell/Kolo Veidekke/BP
 Low Energy Asphalt Fairco
 Green WMA Aztec

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• The mix additive technologies modify the viscosity temperature

properties of the asphalt in a nonlinear manner as shown on
Figure 9.44 (Hurley and Prowell, 2005).

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• The modifier reduces the viscosity of the asphalt cement at high

temperatures, e.g., the mixing temperature for the unmodified
asphalt is 160°C but the modified binder has the same viscosity
at a temperature of 142°C so the mixing temperature can be
reduced by 18°C .

• The chemical used to achieve the viscosity modification can be

either added at the asphalt plant or premixed into the asphalt
cement by the vendor.

• Warm mix can also be produced by modifying the asphalt plant

to accommodate production of warm mix.

• One of the available technologies is the Aztec Green System

which uses carefully controlled water injection to “foam” the
asphalt just before mixing with the aggregates.

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• The water converts to steam while the asphalt is above the

boiling point.

• In the foamed condition the asphalt can flow around the

aggregates creating the needed coating.

• Once the asphalt cools to below the boiling point of water the
foam collapses leaving the residual asphalt coating the
aggregates.

• The volume of water required for the foaming process,

approximately one half kilogram of water per 1000 kg of hot mix,
is so low that the quality of the asphalt concrete is not affected.

• The substantial benefits of warm mix are such that the asphalt
industry considers warm mix to be the “wave of the future” in
flexible pavement construction.
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