Effects of recycled plastics on the performance of polymer modified bitumen (pmb)

Abstract

Polymer modified bitumen (PMB) has been widely used in asphalt mixtures as it provides better performance and durability as compared to unmodified binders. Styrene Butadiene Styrene (SBS) is one of the most common additives used in PMB.With the advent of bitumen technology, PMB can be further enhanced to improve its performance in terms of properties such as viscosity, ageing resistance, stiffness etc. This study aims to evaluate the effects of recycled plastics on the performance of SBS-modified binder. The recycled plastics involved in this study as partial substitute of SBS are low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE). The analysis was conducted using a series of tests which include elastic recovery, dynamic shear test (before and after short term ageing), viscosity test, multiple-stress creep and recovery test and storage stability.