Silicone Resin Polymer Used in Preventive Maintenance of Asphalt Mixture Based on Fog Seal

Abstract

The commonly used materials in fog seal are emulsified asphalt and modified emulsified asphalt. Nevertheless, there are some intractable problems including aging under ultraviolet, poor permeability, and moisture susceptibility. Therefore, silicone resin polymer was used as a kind of innovative fog seal material in this study. Physicochemical properties of solidified silicone resin were characterized. X-ray computed tomography and 3D reconstruction technology were used to evaluate permeability and distribution of silicone resin polymer in an asphalt mixture. Moisture sensitivity and high-temperature performance of the asphalt mixture maintained by silicone resin polymer were also detected. The results show that surface characteristic of silicone resin can effectively isolate moisture, thereby improving moisture resistance of the asphalt mixture. Silicone resin was found to be evenly distributed throughout the pores of a sample when the dosage was 400 or 600 mL/m2. The pore filling rate increased by 16.3% when the dosage was changed from 200 to 400 mL/m2, whereas it only increased by 3.7% when dosage increased from 400 to 600 mL/m2. Moisture damage resistance of asphalt mixtures generally increased as the dosage of silicone was increased. However, as the dosage increased from 400 to 600 mL/m2, the growth rate in residual Marshall stability (RMS) and tensile strength ratio (TSR) slowed significantly since the pore filling effect of silicone has reached the upper limit. Dosage of silicone resin has little effect on the results of the rutting test while it has significant influence on Hamburg wheel tracking test (HWT). Furthermore, it was found that 400 mL/m2 is the optimum silicone dosage for open-graded friction course (OGFC)-13 mixture in consideration of permeability, distribution, performance of mixture, and economic cost.