Yu Jiangmiao, Ren Zhibin, Yu Huayang, Wang Duanyi, Svetlana Shekhovtsova, Korolev Evgeniy, Gao Zheming, Guo Feng
School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, South China University of Technology, Wushan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510000, China.
Institute of Construction and Architecture, Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, Yaroslavskoe Shosse, Moscow 129337, Russia.
Materials (Basel). 2018 Oct 25;11(11):2093. doi: 10.3390/ma11112093.
Asphalt rubber (AR), which is prepared by blending crumb rubber and bitumen, provides various advantages, including superior rutting resistance, lower road-tire noise and longer service life. However, contractors have expressed concerns regarding its poor storage stability, which in turn limits its wider application. This study aims to address the storage stability concern by incorporating nano-montmorillonite (nanoclay). Three types of nanoclay were dispersed into hot AR binder by high shear blending. The rheological properties of nanoclay-crumb rubber modifier (CRM)-modified bitumen were evaluated through Superpave performance grade (PG) tests and the storage stability was characterized by measuring the difference in softening points or complex moduli at the top and bottom portions of binders after lab-simulated storage. X-ray diffraction (XRD) evaluation was conducted to observe the variation of nanoclay layer gap distance for mechanism investigation. It was found that all selected nanoclays had insignificant effects on workability, rutting and fatigue properties. The layered nanoclay transformed to intercalated or exfoliated structures after interaction with bitumen fractions, providing superior storage stability. Among the three selected nanoclays, pure montmorillonite with Na⁺ inorganic group, which has an intermediate hydrophilic property and middle layer gap, showed the most obvious effect on enhancing the storage stability of AR.
橡胶沥青(AR)是通过将橡胶粉与沥青混合制备而成的,具有多种优点,包括卓越的抗车辙性能、较低的路-胎噪声以及更长的使用寿命。然而,承包商们对其较差的储存稳定性表示担忧,这反过来限制了它的更广泛应用。本研究旨在通过加入纳米蒙脱土(纳米黏土)来解决储存稳定性问题。通过高剪切混合将三种类型的纳米黏土分散到热的橡胶沥青结合料中。通过Superpave性能等级(PG)测试评估了纳米黏土-橡胶粉改性剂(CRM)改性沥青的流变性能,并通过测量实验室模拟储存后结合料顶部和底部的软化点或复数模量差异来表征储存稳定性。进行了X射线衍射(XRD)评估以观察纳米黏土层间距的变化,用于机理研究。结果发现,所有选定的纳米黏土对工作性、车辙和疲劳性能的影响都不显著。层状纳米黏土在与沥青组分相互作用后转变为插层或剥离结构,从而提供了卓越的储存稳定性。在选定的三种纳米黏土中,具有Na⁺无机基团的纯蒙脱土具有中等亲水性和中层间距,对提高橡胶沥青的储存稳定性表现出最明显的效果。