Mechanical Properties of Asphalt Emulsion Stabilized Base Course Modified Using Portland Cement and Asphaltenes

Base course quality has a significant impact on the pavement load-bearing capacity and the layer strength could be improved using stabilization techniques. Asphalt emulsion is one of the commonly used materials for base course stabilization. Cement is usually added as an active filler to enhance the mix properties. Asphaltenes is a waste material derived from Alberta oilsands Bitumen with no significant application in the industry. This study compares the impact of asphalt emulsion stabilized layers modified by asphaltenes and cement separately. For this purpose, asphaltenes and cement modified mixes with 1% and 2% by the mixes total weight were prepared. Both mixes mechanical properties were investigated through Marshall stability, indirect tensile strength (ITS), and tensile strength ratio (TSR). IDEAL-CT test was also used to evaluate the cracking resistance of the mixes. From the results, it was concluded that asphaltenes had a greater impact on increasing the Marshall stability, tensile strength, and cracking resistance of the mixes compared to cement. However, asphaltenes-modified samples were found to be more susceptible to moisture damages.