Investigation of hardwood/rubber modified asphalt: Experimental track implementation in Macapá-AP

Abstract

The use of wood residue in asphalt pavements is not common yet, but it is attributed to the gain of structural strength and the reuse of this material discarded in nature. The main objective of this work is the evaluation of asphalt coatings with hardwood residue and ground tire rubber. The methodology follows the steps of preparation and mechanical analysis of the asphalt compound, initially the shear of the mixture of ground rubber tire with sand and hardwood residue. Soon after, the mixture was made of composite with asphalt in the dry process, then the rheological characterization of these samples by means of the parallel plate rheometer, plate to plate of 35 mm in diameter. Then samples of hot mixed asphalt (HMA) made according to Marshall's dosage, modified and unmodified concretes with the compound under study. Micrograph tests were performed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally, mechanical tests on Marshall specimens. The material under study was applied on the track, and this asphalt was monitored for 50 months. The results showed that hardwood residue was compatible with rubber residue and efficient in the rheological properties of petroleum asphalt cement. In mechanical tests, there was a gain of stability, a 15 % higher result for asphalt with wood and rubber residue and at 10 % higher values ​​of the empty asphalt bitumen-compost ratio compared to conventional asphalt concrete. Thus, the applicability of the studied composite is satisfactory and environmentally correct, when it comes to the reuse of materials that replace materials from natural deposits.

Keywords

• Asphalt cement
• Hardwood
• Hot mix asphalt
• Scanning electron microscope
• Optical microscopy
• Crumb rubber