Effects of High-Density Poly-Ethylene and Bakelite on Performance Evaluation of Hot Mix Asphalt

Abstract

Extreme temperatures and loads can seriously harm flexible pavements, so it's important to take practical precautions to increase their lifespan. Bitumen, an important element in flexible pavements, is essential for improving pavement performance. Recent and past studies used several wastes/ modifiers to enhance the bitumen pavement performance; however, there is a lack of study on the use of Bakelite and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) which is environmentally friendly polymers. Therefore, the current study aims to use environmentally friendly polymers such as Bakelite and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) at a varying percentage to investigate the effect of HDPE and Bakelite on the performance evaluation of hot mix asphalt. In this study, we look at how two ecologically friendly polymers, Bakelite and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), affect the performance of hot mix asphalt. Because of its high melting temperature, HDPE is particularly suited for usage in hot areas, making it a good contender for increasing asphalt performance under difficult conditions. We used the Marshall mix design method to get optimal bitumen content and an acceptable blend. The bitumen was mixed with various ratios of Bakelite (6%) and HDPE (3%, 6%, and 9%). Following that, we ran a battery of performance tests on both control and modified samples, including resilient modulus (M_R), indirect tensile strength, moisture susceptibility, and Hamburg wheel tracking. The results indicate an increase in performance by adding HDPE and Bakelite as modifiers. The outperformer off the mixtures were noted to be 6% Bakelite and 6% HDPE for which the resilient modulus is enhanced by 1.7 times the control mix, moisture susceptibility is reduced by 15.3% and rut resistance tweaked by 27.4%. While for rutting the best combination is 6% Bakelite and 9% HDPE which shows enhancement of 42.3%, but for this combination the other properties reduces gradually.