High Temperatures Characterization of Polymer Nanocomposite Modified Asphalt Binder

The performance asphalt binders modified with Copper Oxide nanoparticles (CuO) and Calcium Carbonate nanoparticles (CaCO₃) was investigated. The base asphalt was blended with 5% of Acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) copolymer and different concentrations of nanoparticles were added by 3% and 5% of CuO and CaCO₃ by weight of bitumen. The dynamic shear rheometer was used to investigate the rheological characteristics of modified asphalt binders. The evaluation indicates that the modified asphalt binders have a greater resistance to rutting, better durability, and lower susceptibility to high temperatures. Besides, the rheological properties also improved, as the master curve of the modified asphalts with CuO and CaCO₃ drawn increasingly viscoelastic behaviour compared to base asphalt. Moreover, the modification shows that the failure temperature of the asphalt binder increased with addition increment of modifiers, regardless of the modification type while the permanent deformation of modified samples reduced compared to base asphalt. The 3% CaCO₃ exposed better characteristics of modified asphalt among all the blends.