Improvements of properties of asphalt by poly(methyl methacrylate) additives

This article presents the effect of adding poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with different molecular weights on the mechanical properties of asphalt in terms of durability, strength, and resistance to rutting. By controlling the time of reaction we obtained PMMA of two different molecular weights: PMMA1 and PMMA2. The ageing properties of polymer modified asphalts were studied using the thin film over (oven) a test. A hot storage stability test was carried out for polymer modified binder. The physical properties of asphalt modified with PMMA including penetration value and softening point were examined at two different temperatures. Resilient modulus test was evaluated by a Universal Testing Machine. Results showed that an incorporation of PMMA into asphalt binder has significantly improved its properties under studies. Indirect tensile strength test and durability performance of the modified asphalts was evaluated as well. The resulted modification was found to be dependent on the polymer molecular weight. The PMMA1 exhibited effective and cheerful results.