Dry-Process Polymer Toughening of High-Modulus Asphalt Mixtures: Rheological Response and Competitive Absorption
- 1School of Transportation, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
- 2Intelligent Transportation System Research Center, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
- 3Jiangsu Sobute New Material Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211103, China
Abstract
High-modulus asphalt mixtures (HMAMs) achieve high stiffness but exhibit insufficient resistance to low-temperature cracking. To balance high- and low-temperature performance, HMAMs containing 0.3%, 0.6%, and 1.0% high-modulus modifier (HMM) were toughened with a styrene–butadiene-based polymer (SBP) through a dry process. The toughening behavior and mechanisms were investigated at different SBP dosages (0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.6%) and conditioning times using mixture tests, binder rheological characterization, individual and co-swelling tests, and molecular dynamics simulations. Increasing HMM content substantially improved dynamic modulus and rutting resistance but continuously reduced low-temperature bending strain. At 0.4%, SBP provided favorable strength–deformation compatibility, increasing bending strain by 76.1%, 75.3%, and 63.2% in the three HMM systems, respectively. The optimal conditioning time extended from 30 min (0.3% HMM) to 60 min (0.6% and 1.0% HMM). The 0.6% HMM–0.4% SBP combination exhibited the most balanced overall performance. Rheological results showed that HMM enhanced high-temperature elasticity, whereas SBP reduced low-temperature creep stiffness and improved stress relaxation. With limited availability of light fractions, increasing HMM from 0.3% to 1.0% reduced the swelling ratio of SBP from 114.87% to 62.30%. Molecular simulations further showed that HMM–light fraction interactions increased, whereas the magnitude of the SBP–light fraction interaction energy decreased by 13.2%. These findings suggest that competition for limited light fractions may contribute to the HMM-dependent toughening response, providing a basis for further investigation of material composition and conditioning requirements.
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BibTeX
@article{guo2026dryprocess,
title = {{Dry-Process Polymer Toughening of High-Modulus Asphalt Mixtures: Rheological Response and Competitive Absorption}},
author = {Kaixin Guo and Peixing Yang and Zhaohui Min and Jinxiang Hong},
journal = {Polymers},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/polym18212777},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2777},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Dry-Process Polymer Toughening of High-Modulus Asphalt Mixtures: Rheological Response and Competitive Absorption
AU - Kaixin Guo
AU - Peixing Yang
AU - Zhaohui Min
AU - Jinxiang Hong
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/07
JO - Polymers
DO - 10.3390/polym18212777
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2777
AB - High-modulus asphalt mixtures (HMAMs) achieve high stiffness but exhibit insufficient resistance to low-temperature cracking. To balance high- and low-temperature performance, HMAMs containing 0.3%, 0.6%, and 1.0% high-modulus modifier (HMM) were toughened with a styrene–butadiene-based polymer (SBP) through a dry process. The toughening behavior and mechanisms were investigated at different SBP dosages (0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.6%) and conditioning times using mixture tests, binder rheological characterization, individual and co-swelling tests, and molecular dynamics simulations. Increasing HMM content substantially improved dynamic modulus and rutting resistance but continuously reduced low-temperature bending strain. At 0.4%, SBP provided favorable strength–deformation compatibility, increasing bending strain by 76.1%, 75.3%, and 63.2% in the three HMM systems, respectively. The optimal conditioning time extended from 30 min (0.3% HMM) to 60 min (0.6% and 1.0% HMM). The 0.6% HMM–0.4% SBP combination exhibited the most balanced overall performance. Rheological results showed that HMM enhanced high-temperature elasticity, whereas SBP reduced low-temperature creep stiffness and improved stress relaxation. With limited availability of light fractions, increasing HMM from 0.3% to 1.0% reduced the swelling ratio of SBP from 114.87% to 62.30%. Molecular simulations further showed that HMM–light fraction interactions increased, whereas the magnitude of the SBP–light fraction interaction energy decreased by 13.2%. These findings suggest that competition for limited light fractions may contribute to the HMM-dependent toughening response, providing a basis for further investigation of material composition and conditioning requirements.
SN - 2073-4360
ER -