Research on the Properties of Low Temperature and Anti-UV of Asphalt with Nano-ZnO/Nano-TiO2/Copolymer SBS Composite Modified in High-Altitude Areas

Abstract

Strong ultraviolet light and low-temperature are the typical environmental characteristics in high-altitude areas. The performance of SBS-modified asphalt in the above environmental characteristics needs further study. To improve the resistance ultraviolet (UV) ageing and low-temperature performance of copolymer- (SBS-) modified asphalt, an SBS-modified asphalt containing nano-ZnO and nano-TiO2 is proposed. In this paper, nano-ZnO, nano-TiO2, and SBS were used as modifiers with the silane coupling agent (KH-560) as the nanomaterial surface modification. The orthogonal test table was used to analyse the effects of the three modifiers on the physical properties of modified asphalt at different dosages. On this basis, the physical properties, low-temperature properties, and ageing indices (carbonyl index and sulfoxide index) were studied for base asphalt, SBS-modified asphalt, nano-ZnO/SBS-modified asphalt, and nano-ZnO/nano-TiO2/SBS composite-modified asphalt before and after photoaging. The content changes of characteristic elements (Zn and Ti) in the nano-ZnO/nano-TiO2/SBS composite-modified asphalt before and after ageing were studied by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), and the UV ageing mechanism was revealed. The results indicate that two nanoparticles show the best compatibility with asphalt after surface modification and can improve the binding ability between SBS and base asphalt. The orthogonal test analysis shows that nano-ZnO has a highly significant effect on the low- and high-temperature performance of the nano-ZnO/nano-TiO2/SBS composite-modified asphalt, and nano-TiO2 has a significant effect on the high-temperature performance. Three optimal composite-modified systems for base asphalt including 4% nano-ZnO/1.5% nano-TiO2/3.2% SBS were proposed and had the best antiaging ability. Compared with the sulfoxide index, the carbonyl index changed most obviously before and after ageing. Additionally, the results reveal that nano-TiO2 has a good absorption effect at a wavelength of 365 nm (ultraviolet light), while nano-ZnO is liable to photolysis, and its activity decreases at this wavelength.