Identifying optimal polymer type of modified asphalt based on damping characteristics

This paper first presents the evaluation of damping performance of four types of asphalts: base, non polymer modified, polymer modified, and stress-absorbing modified asphalts using the temperature spectra of the loss factor (LF) based on dynamic shear rheometer. The results showed that the styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) and crumb rubber (CR) were the optimal polymers to improve the damping performance of the base asphalt based on four criteria. The damping performance of SBS and CR modified asphalts was further improved by the proper addition of crosslinker and plasticizer, and the SBS/CR compound modified asphalts held good damping performance for a complementary effect. A high damping capacity of stress-absorbing modified asphalts was observed. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.