Road Performance Analysis of Cement-Asphalt Emulsion Mixtures Incorporating Different Cementitious Fillers

Abstract

Portland cement (PC) has been successfully used as an admixture in cement asphalt emulsion mixtures (CAEMs) to improve their early-age strength. However, the excessive use of PC significantly influences the environment. Thus, to reduce the PC amount to some extent, this study proposes a novel CAEM using artificial by-products, e.g., fly ash (FA) and ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS), in combination with PC. Also, the effects of different combinations of cementitious fillers on the road performance of CAEMs are examined and elucidated experimentally. The results showed that the compressive and indirect tensile strengths of CAEMs increase by 47% and 49%, respectively, by admixing 3.6 wt% PC and 0.4 wt% GGBS. It was found that artificial by-products have a positive impact on the road performance of CAEMs. In addition, the improved strength is attributed not only to the formation of hydration products and accelerated demulsification of asphalt emulsion but also to the improvement of the interface transition zone between aggregates and binders.