Effect of chemical warm asphalt additive on wettability of aged binder incorporating waste engine oil

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of chemical warm asphalt additive on the wettability of modified aged binder with waste engine oil. The chemical warm asphalt additive, Rediset was added at 1%, 2% and 3% by weight of asphalt binder. The wettability evaluation was studied through sessile drop method. A constant of 4L of distilled water dropped onto the asphalt binder surface. The contact angle between the distilled water and asphalt binder surface was directly captured by the goniometer equipped with camera. From this measurement, the surface energy was determined using Young’s equation. The other parameters such as work of adhesion were automatically calculated by the DROPImage Standard Software and work of cohesion was equal to two times of the surface energy. It was found that the chemical warm asphalt additive reduced the contact angle, increased the surface energy, and enhanced the work of cohesion and adhesion. These observations revealed the wettability improvement of the modified binder by the chemical warm asphalt additive. This suggests that certain chemical additive could increase the potential of cohesion and adhesion between asphalt binders with aggregate, which in turn improves the moisture resistance.