Application of Graphene–Basalt Fiber Asphalt Mixtures in Pavement Engineering in Seasonally Frozen Regions

Abstract

Seasonally frozen regions present significant challenges in the construction, operation, and maintenance of roads. It is not possible to attain sufficient improvement in the performance of asphalt mixtures under seasonally frozen conditions using a single external additive. Therefore, dense-grained asphalt mixture AC-13 was selected as the research object in this study. Graphene and basalt fiber were applied for the composite modification of matrix asphalt mixtures (AM), and response surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine reasonable graphene and basalt fiber contents and the optimal asphalt aggregate ratio. The composite modification effect and the feasibility of its application in asphalt pavement in seasonally frozen regions were verified via road performance and freeze–thaw resistance performance tests. The evolution laws of road performance parameter indicators for graphene–basalt fiber asphalt mixtures (GBFAM) under different graphene contents, basalt fiber contents, and asphalt aggregate ratios were studied, and a significance analysis of the factors and the interactions among them was conducted. The results demonstrate the practicality of the GBFAM mixing ratio determination based on the RSM. Furthermore, compared with AM, the GBFAM exhibited superior overall performance. The optimal asphalt aggregate ratio for the GBFAM was 5.32%, with a graphene content of 0.20% and basalt fiber content of 0.30%. The GBFAM road performance parameters increased within a certain range of variation based on the optimum graphene content, basalt fiber content, and asphalt aggregate ratio, and subsequently decreased with increasing graphene content, basalt fiber content, and asphalt aggregate ratio; furthermore, the road performance parameters were approximately maximized around the optimum mixing ratio parameters. Thus, the results show that the graphene content, basalt fiber content, and asphalt aggregate ratio significantly affect the GBFAM road performance. Moreover, GBFAM exhibits excellent road performance and can be used in seasonally frozen regions for asphalt pavement engineering. Special natural climatic conditions and the combined effect of traffic loads contribute to the development of rutting, cracks, looseness, spalling, and other issues, which seriously decrease the quality and service lives of roads, and the addition of modified materials is a common method to reduce these issues. Considering the advantages of graphene or basalt fiber for improved road performance of asphalt mixtures and in order to overcome the limitations of a single modified material in improving the performance of asphalt mixtures, graphene and basalt fiber were applied for the composite modification of AM, and RSM was used to determine the GBFAM optimal mixing ratios parameters. Verification of applicability for seasonally frozen regions was performed through road performance and freeze–thaw resistance performance tests, and the influencing road performance factors and economic costs of GBFAM were analyzed. The research results can provide the foundation and reference for the pavement engineering application of GBFAM in seasonally frozen regions, which is of great practical significance for reducing asphalt pavement diseases in seasonally frozen regions, extending the lifetime of the road and achieving a low carbon environment.