Abstract
The past decades have stood witness to nanotechnology's domination in countless fields of science and engineering. Nanotechnology has greatly contributed to major advances in developing and improving infrastructure materials. Nanoparticles have been used in asphalt production in order to improve the performance of asphalt pavements. This paper is focused on studying the effects of aluminum oxide nanoparticles on the rheological behavior of asphalt binders within the mixing and compaction temperature regime. The selection of aluminum oxide nanoparticles is motivated by their cost and high corrosion/wear resistance, which is beneficial for the asphalt industry. The rheological behavior of the asphalt binders was characterized using the rotational viscometer by measuring viscosity of a base unmodified asphalt (PG 64-22), and other modified asphalts incorporating 2%, 4%, and 6% of aluminum oxide nanoparticles. The results show that the use of these nanoparticles increased viscosity, and the rate of increase is higher at lower temperature (90oC) and lower shear rates. There is evidence of shear thinning with an increase in loading time at 90oC, while this behavior is not observed at higher temperatures of 135oC and 160oC. This shear thinning may be attributed to asphalt thixotropic behavior.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 495-503 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Proceedings of the Thermal and Fluids Engineering Summer Conference |
Volume | 2022-May |
Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Externally published | Yes |
Event | 7th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference, TFEC 2022 - Las Vegas, United States Duration: 15 May 2022 → 18 May 2022 |
Keywords
- Aluminum oxide nanoparticles
- asphalt
- rheology
- rotational viscometer