Rheological Behavior of Warm Mix Asphalt Modified with Foaming Process and Surfactant Additive

Abstract

Surfactants are frequently used to improve the engineering performances of foamed bitumen. Additionally, the foaming process can also perform a significant influence on the foam characteristics and rheological properties of foamed bitumen. However, rare research investigates the synergistic effect of both surfactant and foaming process on the engineering properties of foamed bitumen. To fill the gap, this research investigated the synergistic effect of surfactant and foaming process on the foaming characteristics and rheological properties of foamed bitumen. Based on the experimental results, the synergistic effect shows a significant effect on improving the half-life of foamed bitumen, which reached up to 69 s when 6% foaming Evotherm-DAT content was used. In addition, the foaming temperature also has a significant effect on the foaming characteristics. This study shows that the best foaming conditions can be achieved when the foaming temperature and Evotherm-DAT content are 170 °C and 8%, respectively. Based on the study of synergistic effect, the engineering performances of surfactant foamed bitumen were further characterized in this research, for instance, the enhancement in high-temperature performance and fatigue resistance, and the improvement in workability. Generally, the results of this study have greatly promoted the application of surfactant foam bitumen in the engineering practice.