Rheological Characterization and Thermal Conductivity of Graphene Modified Asphalt Binder

Abstract

Permanent deformation is one of the important distresses in asphalt pavements, which is greatly influenced by temperature. The phenomenon of rutting is influenced by the rheological properties of binder to an extent of 40%. With the increasing overloaded commercial vehicles, rutting is being a frequent phenomenon on highways. On the other hand, usage of high thermal conductivity materials in asphalt binder is gaining attention owing to low thermal conductivity of neat asphalt. In this study, graphene is staged as a material with future perspectives in material enhancement and uses in pavement sustainability. Graphene is an extraordinary material, which is gaining limelight for its unparalleled physical, mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. In this study, VG30 and VG40 asphalt binders were modified with graphene with four different proportions. It has proved to augment the properties of VG30 and VG40 asphalt binder for high temperature rutting parameter, keeping the storage stability in check. The asphalt binder was verified from its absolute viscosity value and the effect on viscosity and the increasing effect in the complex shear modulus due to the additive was enhanced the binder almost twice. The susceptibility to rutting for unaged control and modified binder was studied using MSCR test, also stress sensitivity of the binder was established by applying eight different stress levels instead of two. The augmentation of thermal properties of asphalt binder for different graphene dosages was observed using heat flow meter principle which gave affirmative results with 2% dosage having thermal conductance twice that of control binder.