The Effect of Activation Method of Rubber on the Performance of Modified Asphalt Binder

Poor storage stability is a key problem restricting the rapid development and wide application of rubber-modified asphalt binder, and activation of rubber has shown good prospects to solve this problem. In this study, two activation methods, coating by polyamide 6 and grafting by acrylamide, were introduced to treat crumb rubber. Then the activated rubber was added to base asphalt binder to prepare modified asphalt binder. The chemical structure and morphology of rubber powder before and after activation and of asphalt binder before and after modification were characterized by Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The conventional and rheological properties and storage stability were analyzed to reveal the influence of activation method on the performance of asphalt binder. The results showed that after being activated, the surface of the rubber is loose and rough. A chemical reaction did not occur during activation by polyamide but occurred during activation by acrylamide. The activation of the rubber effectively improved the high- and low-temperature performance, and the softening difference decreased by 79.8%. This is because the interaction between rubber and asphalt binder was enhanced through activation of rubber, and grafting activation had better effect due to the chemical reaction between the basic amide groups of acrylamide and acid groups of asphalt binder.