Laboratory Characterization of Asphalt Binders Modified with Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR)

Abstract

The study describes the laboratory assessment (physical and rheological properties) of the binders (PG 64-22 and PG 76-22) modified with Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR), and a comprehensive comparison between these two modified binder types. PG 64-22 and PG 76-22 were used as base binders. Both of the base binders were blended with SBR at four different percentages of content (0%, 4%, 6%, and 8% by the weight of the binder). The base and modified binders were artificially short-term and long-term aged using a rolling thin film oven (RTFO) and pressure aging vessel (PAV) procedures. Superpave binder tests were conducted on the SBR modified binder using rotational viscometer (RV), dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), and bending beam rheometer (BBR). In depth rutting performance was investigated using Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR). The results of this study indicated that (1) the addition of SBR into both binders increased the viscosity and polymer modified asphalt (PMA) binders observed to have more significant effect on its viscosity property; (2) the higher the SBR content, the better the rutting resistance of the binder and it is observed that the effect is prominent on the control binder; (3) MSCR test results showed that the SBR modified binders improved the binder percentage recovery and found to have a more significant effect on the PG 76-22 binder compared to PG 64-22; and (4) both the control PG 64-22 and PMA PG 76-22 binders resulted in similar trends on the cracking properties and were found to have insignificant effects due to the addition of an SBR modifier.

Study on the Compatibility of SBR and Asphalt Base Based on Molecular Simulation

“…While SBS is often utilized for high-grade highway asphalt pavements due to its superior modification effects, its high cost renders it less suitable for ordinary road applications. Conversely, SBR, a widely used synthetic rubber in industrial production, presents a more cost-effective alternative [ 2 ]. SBR is a random copolymer of butadiene and styrene, known for its well-rounded properties.…”

Investigation on physical properties and modification mechanisms of diatomite/SBR modified asphalt

“…Obviously, the asphalt binder plays an important role in the performance of the asphalt pavement. To achieve this target, polymers, such as styrene-butadienestyrene (SBS) [4], Styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) [5], polyethylene (PE) [6], and ethylene-vinylacetate (EVA) [7], have been widely adopted to improve the engineering performance of asphalt binder. However, the existing modifiers are difficult to get a balance among performance, economy, and technological complexity [8][9][10].…”

Evaluation of Effect of Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) on Crumb Rubber Modified (CRM) Asphalt Binder

“…Due to the rapid development of industry around the world, increasing traffic volume and extreme climate change are becoming the main problem for the service life of asphalt pavement [ 1 , 2 ]. This has led to considering high-performance asphalt binders as a solution to contribute to service life [ 3 , 4 ]. However, even though using modifiers is beneficial to asphalt materials, the aging of asphalt binders affects almost all aspects of asphalt pavement materials, making aging a fundamentally important factor that affects the performance and durability of asphalt pavement [ 5 ].…”