Research On Application Of Rubber-asphalt In Chip Seal

Chip seal treatment is mainly a preventive maintenance procedure applied to the asphalt pavement surface to prevent or delay costly corrective measures, which has a wide range of application perspective. In this application, rubber-asphalt, one of the important involved raw materials, has been attached with more and more importance with its advantages of improved modified performance and good environmental effects. To apply this kind of asphalt into chip seal treatment has great benefit in improving its performance, increasing economic effects, alleviating pollution from aged tires.Currently, research on the applicability, road performance and construction technique of rubber asphalt macadam seal treatment is very limited in China. Also this treatment is rarely employed in road maintenance. So it is of great necessity and significance to initiate research on the feasibility, underlying risks, potential improvement of rubber asphalt macadam seal treatment, which will greatly contribute to instructing real engineering projects and popularizing the application of this treatment.Apart from introducing various types of asphalt seal coat surface treatments and its performance, this paper also makes theoretical analysis of rubber-asphalt’s modification principle, advantages and disadvantages at the beginning. Then experimental preparation and formation process of rubber-asphalt chip seal test specimen have been researched. Based on the experimental research, issues necessary to be highlighted in real construction practice have been summarized. In addition, with adoption of indoor test, the road performance and durability delivered by rubber-asphalt chip seal and normal asphalt chip seal have been compared to evaluate the rubber-asphalt’s contribution in improving performance of chip seal quantitatively. Among all the indoor tests, perpendicular pulling out experiment has been focused highly with the intent of exploring the binding power between rubber-asphalt and gravel, the variation of pulling force and how temperature impacts on binding force.Based on the research, the binding force demonstrated to be closely related with construction temperature, gravel types. And test results show that rubber-asphalt has remarkably benefit in improving chip seal’s capacity of resisting early-stage transformation, and resisting the deterioration after freeze-thaw cycles. In addition, low-temperature performance of chip seal and its durability have also been improved, which contribute to reduce the damage of chip seal. All of this showing that application of rubber-asphalt in chip seal has great value in practicality.