Modification of emulsified bitumen using styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR)

Abstract

This paper evaluates the performance of using different percentage of styrene- butadiene rubber (SBR) in rapid-setting emulsion (RS-2K). The polymer modified bitumen emulsions were blended at various percentages of SBR, i.e. 5%, 7%, 9%, 11% and 13%. The investigation focused on the optimum percentage of SBR added into the polymer modified bitumen emulsion and the performance of the polymer modified bitumen emulsion. There are several laboratory tests involved such as penetration test, softening point test and dynamic shear rheometer test that were done in order to determine the physical and rheological properties of bitumen emulsion. Based on the results, it shows that the physical properties of the polymer modified bitumen improved compared to unmodified bitumen emulsion. For rheological properties, by adding the SBR in the bitumen emulsion, the rutting resistance of the bitumen emulsion is improved. From the isochronal curve, the polymer modified bitumen emulsion shows improvement in the complex modulus, G* as comparing to unmodified bitumen emulsion. The optimum percentage of the SBR is 13% as it shows better performance compared to other percentages.