Scrap tire rubber as modifier of asphalt cement for use in road paving

Abstract

This work presents the results of a research on the technical feasibility of the use of asphalt-rubber binder by the asphalt paving industry. In Brazil more than 30 million tires a year are disposed of, mostly in inadequate sites, causing serious health and environmental problems. The effects of the main factors (rubber content, rubber particle size, temperature of mixture, reaction time) on the behavior of asphalt-rubber binders are evaluated by traditional and Superpave Method tests, the latter based on certain fundamental properties directly related to field performance. Results of the statistical analysis of the factorial design of laboratory experiments show the most significant effect of rubber contents, or rather, that asphalt-rubber binder may increase the resistance against permanent deformation and fatigue cracking