EFFECT OF RUBBER USAGE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF ASPHALT MIXES

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Civil Engineering Department Higher Institute of Engineering and Technology in Kafr El-Sheikh Kafr El-Sheikh, EGYPT

Abstract

Increasing traffic loads cause several pavement distresses such as rutting. Several trials were made to control pavement rutting by mix enhancement. These trials were already limited pavement rutting, but on the other hand showed pavement cracking as a result of lower flexibility for the modified pavements. This study aims at investigating the effect of crumb rubber on the characteristics of asphalt mixes. To achieve this objective, crumb rubber with different percentages of fine aggregate (0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24 and 28%) were used to manufacture the investigated asphalt mixes. Marshall designs were used to obtain the optimum asphalt contents and the corresponding characteristics of the investigated mixes. Other mix characteristics including Marshall stiffness, loss of stability, tensile strength as well as rutting resistance were measured for the investigated mixes. Loss of stability test, indirect tensile test (ITT) and wheel tracking test (WTT) were conducted to measure these characteristics. Analyzing the study results showed that, the use of crumb rubber has a noticeable effect on the characteristics of asphalt mixes. It is noticed that, the use of rubber percent up to 16% by weight of fine aggregate increases the pavement resistance to cracking and does not greatly affect the pavement resistance to rutting.

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