Rheological properties of asphalt binders modified with montmorillonite

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Abstract

Modification techniques for asphalt binders, polymers, fillers, fibers, and recently nanomaterials
have been used to improve the performance of asphalt mixtures. This study evaluated the effect of
incorporating pure clay nanoparticles, modified by stearyl dimethyl ammonium chloride
(Praepagen WB) and cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (Genamin) in the contents of 2, 3, 4, and
5% to petroleum asphalt cement with 50/70 degrees of penetration. Physical and rheological tests
analyzed the binders: penetration, softening point, rotational viscosity, degree of performance;
these tests were performed before and after the short-term aging procedure and the creep and
recovery under multiple stress procedures. The results showed that these modifiers increased the
softening point and viscosity, decreased penetration and improved permanent deformation. The
contents used in this research did not show a significant increase in mixing temperatures. In
addition, the modifiers showed antioxidant properties. Overall, the organophilic Montmorillonite
WB had the best results in the tests performed. It was concluded that the use of Montmorillonite as
a modifier of the asphalt binder is an effective method to improve the properties of the binder.