Properties of Crumb Rubber and Latex Modified Asphalt Binders using Superpave Tests

Abstract

Polymer modified binders have been used for long time to improve the quality of asphalt pavement. This study investigates the effect of crumb rubber and latex on the properties of bitumen binders. Crumb rubber and latex were added to the control 60/70 pen grade bitumen. Four different proportions of crumb rubber and latex were considered in this study: 0%, 4%, 6% and 8% by weight of bitumen binder. The effect of crumb rubber and latex were evaluated through standard penetration and softening point tests as well as dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) test. Temperature ranges of 20°C - 40°C were used for the DSR rheological testing. The results showed that the addition of crumb rubber and latex leads to a promising improvement on the binder properties. A reduction in penetration and an increase in softening point temperature were observed with the addition of either crumb rubber or latex, this indicates improvement in stiffness and rutting resistance. The analysis on DSR results also show that the modified binders have good rutting resistance.