RUTTING AND FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF NANOCLAY MODIFIED BITUMEN

This research has accomplished a comparative rheological test on the unmodified and nanoclay modified bitumen. The results show that compared to unmodified bitumen, the nanoclay modification leads to changes in rheological parameter by increasing stiffness and decreasing the phase angle hence; it can also reduce aging effect on bitumen. Further, the comparison of the rutting parameter (G*/sinδ) shows that the nanoclay modification could increase the rutting resistance of bitumen where the improvement is dependent upon the type and amount of nanoclay. The fatigue resistance parameter (G*sinδ) at the low to medium temperature shows that the nanoclay modification reduces the fatigue life, however, it exhibits the same fatigue life as that of the unmodified bitumen after a particular ageing condition.