PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF POLYMER MODIFIED BITUMEN IN FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS

Abstract

Transportation facilities and infrastructure play a vital role for the purpose of interconnectivity. For the design of these facilities all the highway design agencies look for appropriate, long lasting and cost effective techniques. To achieve these objectives it was intended to incorporate plastic (PVC) replacing bitumen in the asphalt mix. PVC’s products are widely used around the globe. There is no sustainable method to recycle PVC waste. When burnt dioxins are produced which are detrimental for human health. When added to landfill they pose a threat to leach into the ground and contaminate ground water. The performance of pavement over time period reduces because of fatigue and moisture. Therefore such a design is ideal which is cost effective and environment friendly. The project is based on performance evaluation of asphalt mixes using different percentages of PVC replacing bitumen and comparing the properties of polymer modified bitumen with virgin bitumen. NHA gradation B, ARL grade 60/70 and PVC obtained from Gujrat were used in this study. Penetration, ductility and temperature testing was carried out on virgin bitumen and bitumen replaced by different percentage of PVC. i.e.: 3%, 6%, and 9%. Optimum Bitumen Content (OBC) and Optimum Modifier Content (OMC) was determined followed by performance testing. Using OBC and 3% replacement of bitumen by PVC, various samples were prepared and tested for evaluation and their performance results were then compared.