Microstructure and Meso-Mechanical Properties of Asphalt Mixture Modified by Rubber Powder under a Multi-Scale Effect

The applications of rubber-modified asphalt and its mixtures have received widespread attention due to the environmental and economic benefits of such materials. However, studies on the structural performance of rubber-powder-modified asphalt pavement are only concentrated on a certain scale, leading to research on the structural performance of pavement mostly focusing on mechanical responses at a macro scale. Therefore, the present study adopts the concept of multi-scale research to analyze the viscoelasticity of high-dosage-modified asphalt and its mixtures at a microscopic scale from the perspective of meso-mechanical analysis. In this paper, to ensure the overall durability of a structure, the effective asphalt film thickness and coarse aggregate angularity index of the test material were measured first. The viscoelasticity of asphalt modified with rubber powder was then analyzed using a Brinell viscosity test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR). We determined the optimal amount of rubber powder to be 30%. A universal testing machine was used to study the influence of different temperatures and loading frequencies on the viscoelastic properties of different asphalt mixtures. Research on the dynamic modulus found that the incorporation of rubber powder increases the elastic properties of the mixture such that the rubber-powder-modified asphalt mixture had a higher dynamic modulus. At the same time, the high-dosage-modified asphalt mixture was found to be closer to an elastomer under a low temperature and high frequency. At a high temperature and low frequency, the asphalt mixture changed into a viscoelastic body whose viscous properties were mainly affected by the asphalt binder. The addition of rubber powder changed the temperature sensitivity of the asphalt and then affected the viscoelastic properties of the asphalt mixture.