Waste plastic bottles as additive for stone mastic asphalt / Esmaeil Ahmadinia

Esmaeil, Ahmadinia (2012) Waste plastic bottles as additive for stone mastic asphalt / Esmaeil Ahmadinia. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaya.

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Abstract

These days, the increase in the number of road users has led to a dramatic increase in road traffic volume, traffic loads, and consequently, tyre pressure. These factors are important in contributing to pavement deformation and permanent structural or functional failure of the asphalt mixture. The high frequency of traffic loads can result in structural damage to asphalt pavements in the form of cracking of the asphalt layer, rutting along the wheel tracks, loss of adherence between aggregate particles and asphalt cement, which, in turn cause, stripping and other kinds of road surface deterioration. Conventional bituminous material does not have the performance requirements for road construction, which are increasingly subjected to heavy loads, frequent stresses and various climatic and environmental conditions. When the produced bituminous mixture does not meet the climate, traffic, and pavement structure requirements, to qualify as an optimal mixture, this kind of bituminous mixture needs to be modified by an attractive alternative to gain the required properties to be able to overcome the stresses and distresses that the pavement undergoes resulting from bitumen deficiencies in the mixture. Modification of bituminous mixtures offers one answer to overcome this problem and thereby improve the performance and durability of the pavement. Modification of the bituminous mix with polymer seems to have great potential for the successful application in the design of flexible pavements to enhance their effective service life. Adding polymer to the bituminous mixture increases its stiffness and improves its susceptibility to temperature variations in different regions and climates. The main advantage of polymer-modified bituminous mixture is its significant effect on the pavement performance, which enhances its resistance against fatigue cracking, permanent deformation, and moisture susceptibility. Nevertheless, polymer modified asphalt mixes are comparatively more expensive for road pavement. One way to reduce the expense of such construction and to make it more convenient is the application of inexpensive polymers, such as waste polymers. Recycling waste materials has a significant positive impact on the environment, as well as the potential to be cost-effective and improve the performance of flexible pavements. The main purpose of this research is to determine the effect of incorporating waste plastic bottles (PET) on the engineering properties of stone mastic asphalt (SMA) mixture. The engineering properties of asphalt mixes that include various percentages of PET (0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%) were calculated and assessed with laboratory tests. The appropriate range for the amount of waste PET was determined to be 4%~6% by weight of the bitumen content. The outcomes were statistically analysed and the determination of the significance at certain confidence limits was performed with the two factor variance analysis (ANOVA). The results show that the addition of PET has a significant positive effect on the properties of SMA and it can promote the re-use of waste material in industry in an environmentally friendly and economical way.

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