Performance Evaluation of Bitumen Modified with Thermo-Elastic Polymer

Abstract

The increased traffic flow, vehicle loads, and the impacts of harsh climatic conditions necessitate more enduring and stable asphalt pavements. This requires the use of good-quality aggregates and the modification of bitumen with polymers to make pavement more resistant against heavy traffic and environmental conditions. Researchers have focused on using one of common thermo-elastic polymer called Elvaloy Reactive Elastomeric Terpolymer (Elvaloy®) to modify different Pen-Grade bitumen by using up to 2% by weight of bitumen in 0.5% increments. For performance measurement at high and intermediate temperatures, physical tests and rheological tests were used. In terms of physical and test results, significant decrease and increase due to test methods. Rutting and fatigue resistance performance under high temperatures differs as the rate of included the polymer increase. In general, the results show that as the Elvaloy® additive content increases, each sample improves at different rates and hence bitumen with different pen-grades are compatible with the additive.

Keywords

• Modification
• Polymer
• Elvaloy®
• Physical Properties
• Rheology

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