Investigating the Effect of Hydrophobic Additives in Moisture Damage Reduction of Asphalt Mixtures

In order to increase the life of the asphalt mixture and reduce the cost of the pavement life cycle, methods must be provided to improve the quality. Accordingly, the effects of aggregate surface coating with hydrophobic material in order to modify the aggregate mixture’s polar properties and reduce its hydrophilic properties are investigated. To this end, limestone and granite aggregates, 60-70 bitumen, and Two types of additives were used as the primary materials for the construction of asphalt mixtures. Thermodynamic concepts with cyclic loading have been used to evaluate the effects of these additives. The results obtained in this study indicate that the hydrophobic coating on the aggregate surface has increased the acidic components and decreased the alkaline components of the surface free energy for both types of aggregates. These changes will increase the bitumen-aggregate adhesion and make a better coating of bitumen on the aggregate surface. The results based on thermodynamic concepts suggest that the aggregate surface coating has reduced the system’s separation energy and the desire for stripping. The results of the dynamic modulus in wet to dry conditions also approve this outcome. The combination of thermodynamic concepts and the cyclic loading results show that the coating on the aggregate surface has reduced the aggregate’s stripping from bitumen. It is also obvious that the samples made with granite aggregates, which have acidic properties, are prone to moisture damage and have a higher tendency to strip.