The Effect of Short-Term Aging on Warm Mix Asphalt Moisture Performance

Abstract

Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) is a good pavement option due to its environmental benefits. Short-term aging is one of the critical factors that the WMA should carefully study. This research aims to study the effect of short-term aging on the warm mix asphalt that has different percentages of rubber. In this study, three percentages of rubber (1, 1.5, and 2%) by weight of aggregate are considered to be added to the WMA. By use of the Indirect Tensile Strength test for HMA, WMA unmodified and modified with CR that is exposed to an aging protocol to assess the sensitivity of asphalt mixture to moisture damage. The results show that HMA is less sensitive to moisture than WMA, and the addition of crumb rubber to WMA generally improves the resistance to moisture compared with WMA with 0% of rubber. However, as the rubber content increases to 2%, the resistance starts to decrease. Finally, SEM images were taken of rubber particles, WMA with and without rubber to investigate the changes occurring to the mixtures.