Study on high-temperature performance evaluation of asphalt mixtures with anti-rutting additives

In order to investigate the asphalt mixture enhancement due to the granular anti-rutting additives, the multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) test and wheel tracking test were performed to examine the effects of three anti-rutting additives on the high-temperature performance of binders and mixtures, respectively. Further, the interaction mechanism between anti-rutting additives and asphalt binder was revealed via a fluorescence microscopy (FM) test. The results indicate that the incorporation of anti-rutting additives causes a substantial increase in elasticity behavior for binders, along with a massive enhancement of dynamic stability for mixtures. Further, the enhancement of performance is not conclusively determined by the compatibility between the additive and asphalt. Instead, unmelted viscous-flow additives contribute to the enhancement of mixtures by interlocking, filling voids, cementing and wrapping the aggregate, which are essential mechanisms of mixture modification. This study contributes to selecting appropriate additives in engineering and enhancing anti-rutting additives based on their modification mechanism.