Effect of Crumb Rubber Particles on the Properties of Asphalt

Abstract

The practice of crumb rubber derived from scrap tires to modify the mechanical properties of bituminous mixtures has become increasingly important in road engineering. In recent years, much research has been devoted to the influence of this waste material on pavement performance. This paper aims to address the influence of crumb rubber (CR) polymers on the performance of asphalt pavements. Thus, asphalt mixtures with varying percentages of CR mixed by the wet process were tested. The statistical analysis revealed that crumb rubber significantly increased the stiffness modulus, rutting resistance, and pavement resistance to moisture damage. The study concludes that an addition of 20% to 24% of crumb rubber modifiers to conventional asphalt mixture yields the most satisfactory results among other percentages of CR polymers. The study recommends the use of crumb rubber in pavement construction.