Modified Bitumen
Modified Bitumen
Modified Bitumen
SUBMITTED BY: ARPYIT GUPTA(091569) GAURAV GUPTA(091570) ROHIT THAKRAL(091571) SHANKAR PRASAD(091572)
CONTENTS
TOPICS 1. INTRODUCTION PAGE NO. 3
INTRODUCTION
Modified bituminous materials can bring real benefits to highway maintenance/construction, in terms of better and longer lasting roads, and savings in total road life costing. Some bitumen may require modifiers, such as polymers, to meet low and high temperature requirements. Although modifiers may affect many properties, the majority of modifiers attempt to decrease the temperature dependency and oxidation hardening of bitumen and asphalt mixtures. It has to be said at the outset almost all modified bituminous materials are proprietary materials, this causes problems in determining the benefits of different materials on other, and the ability to directly compare one material with another.
Rubberised asphalt, mainly surface course (wearing course) but also binder course (basecourse), has been used with a fair degree of success for over 40 years. Rubber is a natural polymer and its action in a bituminous mix is similar to that of the synthetic thermoplastic rubbers (TR's). This technology can largely enhance and improve the durability of roads. It will be susceptible to temperature variations and will help to improve the desirable qualities of bitumen, increasing its overall performance to a large extent. Natural Rubber modified binder properties: Increased Softening Point. Penetration of base bitumen enhanced. Increased level of binder stiffness and viscosity. Penetration index improved. Greater resistance to cracking at low temperatures.
b) Crumb Rubber Modified Bitumen (CRMB) Asphalt rubber, also named crumb rubber modified bitumen (CRMB) have been spread worldwide as solution for different quality problems. They are proven to have excellent performance in hot, moderate and cold climate under various load conditions, cold properties and they also have high resistance against aging. The common advantages are: improved durability, lower life-cycle cost, less reflective cracking, better adhesion, less bleeding during construction, better drainage, substantial noise reduction, wider utilization temperature interval, better skid resistance etc compared to most of other modified or non-modified bitumen containing asphalt pavements. These advantages were demonstrated by roads built in the last 40 years. Prior to utilization of any polymer modified bitumen into various countries it requires careful planning, engineering design and many laboratory tests in order to
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maximize benefits, minimize cost and perfectly accommodate into the regions individuality.
POLYMER, (polymers being the most common bitumen modifier) The term "polymer" does not automatically mean a synthetic material. It basically means a combination of a large number of similar small molecules or "monomers" into large molecules or "polymers". The polymer will have different properties to the monomer. There are a large number of naturally occurring polymers, these can be organic or mineral substances. Such natural examples of polymers include hair, rubber, diamonds and sulphur. Even bitumen could be regarded as a polymer because of the long-chain nature of some of the organic molecules that are the constituent parts of bitumen.
SYNTHETIC POLYMERS These are polymers that have been manufactured in a chemical process to combine particular molecules in a way that would not occur naturally. And although various synthetic polymers have been capable of being produced since the early part of this century it is the more recently developed polymers that are now being used to modify bitumens and produce the "new" bituminous binders. The new polymers being the result of research and development by the large petrochemical industries. But when I say "new" most of the synthetic polymers used in the modification of bitumen have been around for 30 years or more.
What may be "newer" is the way that they are "mixed" / "blended" with the base bitumen.
and recombine into their polymer chains at lower temperatures, i.e. ambient temperatures. What has to be ascertained in practice is the degree of modification that takes place, and whether the degree of improvement achieved in the overall qualities of the bituminous mix is worth having, and is it cost effective.
Suffix. It denotes the following: a. NRMB and PMB - Penetration value b. CRMB Softening Point c. Suffix in PMB(E) 40, PMB(P) 40, NRMB 40 denotes their penetration value whereas in CRMB 60, it denotes the softening point.
b. Indirect heating arrangement c. Circulation Mechanism d. Agitation mechanism Temperatures Temperature regime of modified bitumen and its mixes is 15 to 20deg C higher as compared to straight grade bitumen. These have been specified in section 521 of the MOSRT&H specifications.