Moisture Sensitivity Performance of Hot Mix Asphalt Mixture Incorporating Fly Ash Geopolymer (FAG) Asphalt Binder

Abstract

In Malaysia, Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) is widely used in asphalt production. HMA is a mixture of asphalt and aggregates that give durability to the road surface for pavement. Due to vehicles excessive traffic loadings that cause road surface damage, this pavement technology frequently undergoes maintenance and rehabilitation work. This study used recycled material as a modified binder and showned the best result in increasing stiffness and better rutting performance with high percentages of additives. This research focuses on the effect of FAG additive on asphalt mixture performance evaluation according to SuperpaveTM mixes design method. The procedures were specified according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), British Standard (BS) and Malaysian Standard (MS). The granite aggregate type was produced by a local quarry with conventional asphalt binder grade 80/100 and 60/70. Incorporation FAG in modified asphalt binder as levels of 0, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11% by mass of asphalt binder. The performance of moisture sensitivity showed low moisture damage susceptibility for the mixture based on consistent values of TSR, in which all the specimens met the minimum TSR threshold of 80%. The optimization findings indicated that 9% of fly ash geopolymer might be the ideal content for modifying the asphalt binder. Overall, research findings suggest that using geopolymers may have improved some of the characteristics of asphalt binder and the performance of asphalt binders in pavement applications.  Thus, the outcomes of this research were significantly used for further performance test and analysis on the asphalt mixture.