Determination of the rheological and mechanical properties of polymer modified bitumen by using fluorescence microscopy

Increases in traffic volume and axial load and production faults lower the expected performance from roads and service life causing deformations such as rutting (permanent deformation), fatigue and lower temperature cracking and water susceptibility. Providing the envisaged service life and comfort level of pavement depends to a large extent on the properties of bituminous binder used in hot mixtures. From this point of view, modification of bitumen has become one of the methods frequently used in increasing performance of the road.Within the framework of this thesis, modification of bitumen with polymer additives has been investigated. For this purpose, modified bitumen samples were prepared by using different types of polymer additives that belong to elastomer and plastomer groups of different contents. Conventional bitumen experiments were performed on the prepared samples. In order to investigate the performance of modified bitumen on the mechanical properties of the bituminous mixtures, Marshall stability experiments were applied.Distribution and quality of different types of polymer modified bitumen additives in pure bitumen were determined by the captured images obtained from trinocular fluorescent microscopy. Since exact behavior of polymer additives used for modification of bitumen is not completely determined, as well as with the absence of cooperative study involving most of these additives, the values found in the study are thought to be useful in determining which polymer would be better for the needs of contractor and management.