Properties Analysis of Asphalt Binders Containing Bayer Red Mud

In this work, related performances of asphalt binders with Bayer red mud powder (RMP) were studied. RMP replaced the traditional limestone powder (LSP) as a filler in asphalt binder. The replacement rates were 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, respectively. In this study, seven F/A (filler-to-asphalt, weight/weight) ratios for each of the fillers were selected: 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, 1.5, 1.8, and 2.1. Penetration, softening point, rotational viscosity (RV), dynamic shear rheometry (DSR), and bending beam rheometry (BBR) tests were used to evaluate the properties of the asphalt binder. Penetration into the asphalt binder decreases linearly with increasing F/A ratio. Moreover, penetration of binder with RMP is lower than that of asphalt binder with LSP (RMP0), and among the five fillers tested, RMP100 showed most significant influence on penetration of the asphalt binder. The addition of RMP increases the softening point of the binder. DSR results show that the improvement in the high temperature performance is most significant after replacing 75% of the LSP with Bayer RMP. BBR results show that with increasing substitution of RMP for LSP, the creep stiffness (S) increased while the rate of change of S (m-value) declined. The low temperature performance of every asphalt binder was not enough to meet the Superpave requirements. In order to meet the Superpave requirements for S and m-values, the maximum F/A ratios of the five replacements corresponding to the fillers with 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% RMP, were 1.3, 1.2, 1.1, 1.0 and 0.9, respectively. At 135 °C, rotational viscosity showed that RMP75 and RMP100 with a maximum F/A ratio of 1.1 are the best choices for asphalt binders, considering economic and construction requirements.