High and Low Temperature Performance and Fatigue Properties of Silica Fume/SBS Compound Modified Asphalt

In order to study the high and low temperature properties, and fatigue properties, of silica fume/SBS (Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene) compound modified asphalt (SFSCMA), dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) and bending beam rheometer (BBR) are used to study matrix asphalt (MA), silica fume modified asphalt (SFMA) (silica fume (SF) 6%), SBS modified asphalt (SBSMA) (mass ratio of SBS to Matrix asphalt 4%), and silica fume/SBS compound modified asphalt, and the high temperature rheological properties of silica fume/SBS compound modified asphalt with different silica fume additions are also studied. The modification mechanism of SFSCMA was studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The investigation results turn out: along with the increase in the content of SF, the high temperature performance of SFSCMA is improved significantly. When the content of SF is 6%, the high temperature performance is the best. When the content of SF is more than 6%, the high temperature property of SFSCMA is lower than that of SBSMA. It is suggested to choose 6% as the content of SF. Compared with MA, SFMA, and SBSMA, SFSCMA has excellent high temperature performance; compared with MA and SFMA, the low temperature performance of SFSCMA is improved, but it is worse than that of SBSMA. Moreover, when the temperature is lower than −30 °C, its low temperature performance is close to that of MA, or even worse than that of MA. After the compound modification of SF and SBSMA, the fatigue properties of the asphalt are improved, and the fatigue performance of SFSCMA is the best among the four kinds of asphalt. There is a cross-linking force in the network structure of SFSCMA, which restrains the flow of the whole system, so that the stability of the compound modified asphalt is significantly improved, which is favorable to the high temperature performance and fatigue resistance of the compound modified asphalt. However, due to its low mobility, it has a negative impact on the low temperature performance of the compound modified asphalt. In addition, according to previous studies, compared with diatomite, it is proven that SF can reach the same level as diatomite in improving the high temperature performance and fatigue performance of asphalt. Therefore, SF can be used as a good choice of asphalt modifier and can achieve the purpose of waste recycling and environmental protection.