Investigation of Antiaging Performance and Service Life of OMMT/SBS Modified Bitumen Waterproof Membranes

Abstract

Improving the aging resistance of waterproof membranes is very important to extend their service life. In this paper, organic montmorillonite (OMMT) was used to enhance the aging resistance of styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) modified bitumen (SMB) for waterproofing. The effect of OMMT on the physical properties, chemical structure, and micromorphology of SMB membranes before and after heat aging were investigated, and the service life of the SMB membranes was predicted based on the Arrhenius model. The results indicated that the high- and low-temperature performance of SMB was improved due to the addition of OMMT, and the optimal dosage of OMMT was 3%. After 20 days of heat aging at 80°C, the alterations of softening point increment, low-temperature flexibility decrement, and viscosity aging index of OMMT/SMB decreased by 1.5°C, 3°C, and 14.7%, respectively, compared with that of SMB, which indicated that OMMT can enhance the aging resistance of SMB waterproof membranes. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy indicated that the change of IC═O, IS═O, and IC═C of 3% OMMT/SMB was 53.5%, 45.6%, and 53.2% less, respectively, than SMB after 20 days of heat aging at 80°C, which shows that OMMT can inhibit the change of carbonyl, sulfoxide, and butadiene double bonds of SMB. The gel permeation chromatography showed that OMMT can hinder the degradation of SBS and polycondensation of bitumen during heat aging. The fluorescence microscope showed that OMMT/SMB maintained a more complete network structure than SMB after heat aging. According to the Arrhenius model, based on the 0°C flexibility as the damage point and the temperature of waterproof materials under sunlight being 60°C for an annual sunshine time of 1,200 h, the service life of SMB and OMMT/SMB were predicted to be 16.90 and 21.32 years, respectively.