Effect of Modified Bitumen with CR-10 and CR-15 on the Performance of Asphalt Concrete

Asphalt concrete has an extensive application field in road construction. Studies aiming to increase the performance of asphalt concrete have gained importance since the cost of road construction is quite high and resources are limited. On the other hand, researchers have inclined to use various wastes in asphalt concrete since the wastes from houses and industrial production has increased all over the world and the storage areas for these wastes are inadequate. The use of various wastes in asphalt concrete has become important since obtaining aggregate in good quality becomes difficult and bitumen cost has risen. In recent years, studies have increased progressively in relation to recycling of wastes and to increasing asphalt concrete performance with superstructure layers which are less in thickness. In this study, the experimental results have been summarized in relation to the use of modified bitumen in asphalt concrete, which are CR-10 and CR-15 and contain specially-treated tires. The elastic recovery rate of the modified bitumen from waste is 10 times more than normal bitumen. The penetration and softening point values of the modified bitumen’s CR-10 and CR-15 are higher than that of others. In addition, these products have a very low heat loss; therefore it can be possible to make castings in cold weather conditions. The behavior of asphalt concretes under repeated loads was investigated and asphalt concretes produced with CR-10 and CR-15 modified bitumen’s have proven to be longer lasting. In this way, using waste tires as a modifier in the bitumen not only improve the performance characteristics of the asphalt concrete but also help to reduce environmental pollution.