Improvement of Engineering Properties of Asphalt Binder and Mixture by Using SBS Additive Material

Rutting, thermal cracking, and stripping are among the most severe distress types in asphalt pavement. In this study, a specified type of styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) was used as a modifier for a low viscosity asphalt binder G80/100 (PG 58-22) to overcome the issues of the distresses in the asphalt mixture. The mixing process had been evaluated by using fluorescent microscopy. The control- and SBS-modified binders were subjected to all conventional and Superpave binder tests. The Hamburg wheel tracker (HWT) and indirect tensile strength ratio (ITSR) tests were conducted to evaluate the engineering properties of the control and modified asphalt mixtures. The used SBS percentages were 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5% of the total weight of the binder. The results showed lower penetration, higher softening point, viscosity, and elastic recovery. The dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) and bending beam rheometer (BBR) tests showed an increasing SBS% leading to an increase in both values of high and low temperatures of the asphalt performance grade (PG). The tensile strength ratio and Hamburg wheel tracker tests’ results showed that the highest TSR and rutting parameter values were obtained at 3% SBS, which was the optimum SBS content for the asphalt mixture and the resulted modified asphalt is PG76-16.