Improvement of Asphalt Properties Using Polymethyl Methacrylate

Reda A. Haggam, Ismail M. Ibrahim, Mohamed El-Shafie Abdelatif, Abd El Latief M. Abd Elrhman, Sanaa A. El-Kholy

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.
Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI), Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt.

DOI: 10.4236/ojopm.2014.42007                

Abstract

Increasing traffic loading and volumes on roads have led to the use of polymer modified binders to improve the performance of bitumen in terms of strength, durability, and resistance to rutting. This research studies the effect of adding poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) with different molecular weights on asphalt properties. PMMA polymer was prepared via solution polymerization of MMA using dibenzoyl peroxide (DBPO) as initiator. By controlling the time of reaction, two different molecular weights were obtained: PMMA1 and PMMA2 with Mw 21.000 and 30.000, respectively. The morphological studies of polymer modified binder were discussed. Physical properties of PMMA modified asphalt including penetration value, softening point, and kinematic viscosity at 135°C and 150°C were examined. The aging properties of polymer modified asphalts were examined using thin film oven test (TFOT). A hot storage stability test was carried out for polymer modified binder. Indirect tensile strength (ITS) test and durability performance of modified asphalts were evaluated using Marshall Test. Resilient modulus (RM) test was evaluated using Universal Testing Machine. Results showed that the inclusion of PMMA polymer in asphalt binder has significantly improved its properties. The achieved improvement was found to be dependent on polymer molecular weight. Moreover, the results explained that the compatibility between PMMA and asphalt binder is improved upon further aging especially with low molecular weight polymer (PMMA).

Keywords

Asphalt Binder, Rutting, PMMA, TFOT, Ageing

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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