Performance evaluation of styreneic methyl copolymer regenerated SBS-modified asphalt and its mixture with high content RAP

Abstract

The aging degree of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is complex and diverse, and the current utilization rate of RAP is far from meeting the needs of green cycle development. To explore the effect of Styreneic Methyl Copolymer (SMC) rejuvenator of aging asphalt and the performance of SMC regenerated asphalt mixture containing 50% and 60% RAP, this study used SMC rejuvenator to regenerate SBS-modified asphalt with different aging degrees. The high and low-temperature rheological properties of regenerated asphalt were evaluated by temperature sweep test, multi stress creep recovery test, and bending beam rheometer test. Then, the recommended content of the SMC rejuvenator was obtained by using Matlab to establish the corresponding model. Finally, the road performance of the regenerated mixture with high-content RAP was verified. The test results showed that the recommended content range of the SMC rejuvenator for the aging asphalt with PAV (Pressurized Aging Vessel) 0 h, PAV5h, PAV10h, PAV15h, PAV20h were 1.56∼2.31%, 3.03∼3.36%, 4.269∼4.48%, 5.23∼5.66%, 5.95∼6.91%, respectively. The road performance of the SMC regenerated asphalt mixture with 50% and 60% RAP content met the specification requirements. SMC rejuvenator had no significant negative impact on high-temperature performance, significantly improving low-temperature cracking resistance. SMC regenerator had a positive significance in improving regeneration efficiency.

Keywords

• SMC rejuvenator
• Different aging degrees
• Rheological properties
• High-content RAP regenerated asphalt mixture
• Road performance