Performance characteristics of Agbabu natural bitumen ternary nano composite with polypropylene and multiwall carbon nanotubes

Abstract

The modification of bitumen using polymers has reached its limits due to rutting and cracking problems under severe temperatures. Yet, there are few studies on bitumen blends using multiple materials. This research investigated the effects of Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) in a ternary mixture (Agbabu bitumen (ANB) - polypropylene (PP) – MWCNT) and optimized the functional formulation. Certain properties of ANB, such as the loss in ductility, flash, fire, penetration, and softening points were improved by blending MWCNT (0.1 – 1.21 g), PP (0.15 – 4.05 g) and ANB (94.79 – 99.75 g). The improvements were by 43.27, 43.76, 78.41 and 2.80% for flash, fire, penetration, and softening points with the optimal blend of 97.92, 0.1 and 1.98 g of ANB, MWCNT, and PP, respectively. This large improvement in composite properties is superior to the polymeric binary systems, and concordant with ASTM and BS standard requirements.

Keywords

• bitumen
• modification
• multiwall carbon nanotubes
• polymeric bitumen
• optimization