Influence of mineral fillers properties on the bonding properties of bitumen mastics: Fid-Bau Portal

Influence of mineral fillers properties on the bonding properties of bitumen mastics

Li, Chenchen / Liu, Quan / Lei, Jie / Zhang, Zeyu / Fu, Chaoliang / Pan, Fei

Highlights • Bitumen mastics considering different mineral fillers were experimentally investigated. • The characterization of nine fillers was performed. • The properties of varying bitumen mastics were evaluated. • The anti-cracking property of asphalt mixtures was estimated.

Abstract The bitumen mastic composed of bitumen binder and fillers contributes to asphalt mixtures' anti-moisture and anti-cracking properties. Therefore, it is of great significance to investigate the properties of bitumen mastic and its corresponding influence factors. This study performed an investigation on bitumen mastics considering different mineral fillers. In particular, nine fillers were characterized in particle size distribution, chemical compositions, and microstructures. The binder bonding strength (BBS) was used to evaluate the properties of varying bitumen mastics. The moisture resistance was estimated by measuring the bitumen mastics after moisture treatments. In addition, the asphalt mixtures with optimal filler binder ratio were manufactured for the anti-cracking estimation. The results indicated that the variation of mineral fillers induced the property differences of bitumen mastics. However, the deterministic factor was the filler binder ratio. The microstructure of fillers showed an explicit relationship with the bonding strength of bitumen mastics. The relationships between bonding strength and cracking indicators were weak, indicating a remarkable gap to upscale from bitumen mastics to asphalt mixtures. In addition, the correlation analysis also demonstrated that the cracking resistance of asphalt mixtures behaved indicator-dependent.