Influence of Warm Mix Additives on PMA Mixture Properties

Abstract

The objective of the study in this paper was to investigate the influence of warm mix additives on polymer-modified asphalt (PMA) mixtures in regards to engineering properties. Twelve PMA mixtures (four control PMA mixtures and eight warm PMA mixtures) were prepared by using two additives (Aspha-min and Sasobit), two binder sources, and two aggregate sources. An evaluation of all PMA mixtures included the following testing procedures: tensile strength ratio (TSR), asphalt pavement analyzer (APA), resilient modulus, and indirect tensile strength (ITS) after longterm oven aging. The results from this research generally indicated that (1) the PMA mixtures containing the additives can satisfy the current Superpave mixture requirements (including moisture susceptibility and rutting resistance) and (2) no statistical differences existed between the control and the warm PMA mixtures for the properties that the authors evaluated in this study, suggesting using of WMA technologies in PMA mixes has no negative effect on the mixture’s engineering properties.