Performance Characterization of Polymer Modified Asphalt Binders and Mixes

Fatigue sensitivity of four different asphalt binders and three different asphalt mixes was evaluated in the study. Binders were subjected to Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) test at three temperatures of 10, 20, and 30°C. Four-point beam bending test (4PBBT) was conducted on the asphalt mixes at a temperature of 20°C for strain amplitudes varying from 200 to 1000 microstrains. Tests like retained Marshall Stability and indirect tensile strength (ITS) were also carried out to judge the mix performance. Experimental studies demonstrated that elastomeric modified binder and mixes gave the best performance in fatigue. Plastomeric modification was found to be highly strain susceptible and resulted in poor fatigue performance. The fatigue life of stone mastic asphalt (SMA) was found to be almost five times higher than the dense graded mixes. For similar strain levels, the results of LAS test could be linearly correlated with the 4PBBT results.

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