Moisture Susceptibility Evaluation of Asphalt Mixtures Containing Steel Slag Powder as Filler

Abstract

The primary objective of this paper was to investigate the effect of replacing steel slag powder (SSP) with limestone filler (LF) with different contents as an inorganic anti-stripping agent on the moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixtures. Two traditional inorganic anti-stripping agents were selected for comparison, namely cement (CE) and slaked lime (SL). Apparent morphology, chemical compositions, and the particle size distribution of the four fillers were firstly studied. LF was replaced by SSP, CE, and SL with different contents, and then mixed with asphalt to prepare asphalt mortars. An 80 °C water immersion test was conducted to investigate the adhesion of asphalt mortar and aggregates, and an image analysis technique was utilized to evaluate the stripping of asphalt from the aggregates. A Marshall stability test and freeze-thaw split test were then conducted to analyze the effect of different fillers on the moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixtures. The results show that SSP contains a large amount of CaO, which indicates that SSP has a certain alkalinity. Compared with LF, SSP has a rougher surface texture and a finer particle size. Image analysis results show that the partially replacement of LF by SSP increases the asphalt coverage rate of aggregates, which means that SSP can improve the adhesion between asphalt mortar and aggregates. However, the excessive addition of SSP will result in a decrease in adhesion. The results of both the Marshall stability test and freeze-thaw split test demonstrate that CE, SL, and SSP can improve the moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixtures compared with the LF group, and that asphalt mixtures containing SSP have better moisture damage resistance than those with CE, but less such resistance than those with SL. With the increase of the amount of SSP replacing LF, the moisture susceptibility of the asphalt mixture decreases gradually. The optimum substitution amount of SSP was 25% of the total volume of fillers in this test.