Date Approved
9-11-2024
Embargo Period
9-11-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Department
Civil Engineering
College
Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering
Advisor
Yusuf Mehta, Ph.D.
Keywords
Asphalt binder;Flexible pavement;Hot mix asphalt mixtures;Polyethylene;Polystyrene;Waste plastics
Disciplines
Civil Engineering
Abstract
The study investigated the potential of waste plastics such as low density polyethylene(LDPE), high density polyethylene(HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate(PET) and polystyrene (PS) for designing superior performing asphalt mixtures. Both wet mixing and dry mixing methods were adopted for designing plastic modified asphalt mixtures. Initially LDPE and HDPE were selected for developing plastic modified binders, based on melting characterization, determined from differential scanning calorimeter(DSC). In wet mixing process, the influence of dosage, size of plastic, blending duration and interaction between plastic and asphalt were assessed. Plastics were found to exhibit phase separation with asphalt, while finer particles take only longer to segregate than coarser particles. Pretreating PE with waste cooking oil and compatibilizing with Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene(SBS) reduced phase separation and improved the storage stability of modified binder. Through dry mixing method, it was found that degree of crystallinity (Xc) can be a potential parameter to identify a PE behavior rather than source of plastic. PE with Xc value less than 60% was observed to behave as a binding agent, while the tendency to behave as a filler increased with higher Xc values. PS exhibited soft amorphous behavior in hot mix asphalt mixture due to glass transition and PET exhibited filler behavior owing to its crystalline phase. Overall, plastic modification improved resistance to rutting and moisture damage. While intermediate cracking performance varied significantly with the type and behavior of plastic, thermal cracking behavior was found to be least influenced
Recommended Citation
REVELLI, VENKATSUSHANTH, "EFFECTIVE INTEGRATION OF WASTE PLASTICS IN HOT MIX ASPHALT MIXTURES: TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 3287.
https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/3287
