High-Temperature Rheological Characteristics of Asphalt Binder Incorporated with Graphene Oxide and Predicting Its Rutting Potential Using Response Surface Method

Abstract

Rutting is one of the most common types of asphalt pavement failures. This study has investigated the high temperature performance of asphalt binders incorporating graphene oxide (GO). To this end, frequency sweep, temperature sweep, and multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) tests using a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) were conducted on the control and GO-modified asphalt binders. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on a statistical model was used to investigate the interactive effects of three parameters, namely temperature, GO content, and loading frequency, on the rutting performance of the GO-modified asphalt and develop predictive mathematical models. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to observe the microstructure of the binders. The results of the rheological tests showed that GO considerably enhanced the high temperature performance of the asphalt binder. The MSCR test results revealed that in comparison with the control asphalt, the GO modified binders presented lower nonrecoverable creep compliance (Jnr) and higher percent recovery (R) values, showing a significant contribution of the GO to rutting resistance. The statistical analysis showed that the selected input variables exhibited a notable impact on the complex modulus (G*) and rutting behavior (G*/sinδ) of the asphalt, and quadratic models were proposed for predicting the rutting potential. Finally, the AFM analysis demonstrated that GO was perfectly distributed in the asphalt matrix.