Improvement of Marshall Properties of the Asphalt Concrete Mixtures Using the Polyethylene as Additive

Abstract

In order to increase the durability of highway pavement specific requirementsare needed to control the quality of pavement materials. Therefore, the aim ofthis study is to make and test laboratory specimens in order to characterizeasphalt-polymer and aggregate mixtures by using results from conventionaltest procedures. The research work covers six percentages of polymer contentthose are (2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%, and 12%) percent by weight of asphaltcontent. The polymer modified mixes were designed in accordance withMarshall method and the engineering properties of these mixes weredetermined. The engineering properties of the control and polymer modifiedmixes (stability, flow, bulk density, percent of voids in total mix, and percentof voids filled with asphalt) were evaluated by conventional test (Marshalltest).The test results show that the engineering properties of polymer modifiedmixes meet the requirements of the S.O.R.B. specification for the asphalt mixused in the construction of surface course. The Marshall stability for modifiedmixes is higher than of control mixes.