Research on the rheological characteristics of layered nano-montmorillonite modified asphalt binder

The requirements for modified bitumen are increasing according to the higher load condition and worse serving environment in modern highway construction. And with the development of nano-technology in material design, it is found that polymer modifier combined with layer silicate can obviously improve the using properties. Nanometer montmorillonite (MMT) modified asphalt concrete is a kind of composite which can enhance the performances of asphalt pavement by using some MMT materials. An exfoliated structure was formed in MMT modified bitumen through a physical and chemical process and the physical capabilities of bitumen was improve evidently. The rheological characteristics of MMT modified asphalt bind are study using Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) in this research which including Frequency Sweep and Temperature Sweep. The effects of MMT concentration, temperature and loading frequency on the viscosity, complex shear modulus and phase angle of MMT modified asphalt binder are investigated. The origin binder and the layered nanometer MMT content of 1 wt%, 3 wt%, 5 wt% were tested. The rheological properties of layer nanometer MMT modified asphalt was improved significantly.