Investigation of Moisture Dissipation of Water-Foamed Asphalt and Its Influence on the Viscosity

Water-foamed asphalt is capable of improving the workability of asphalt mixture. It has been extensively used for its energy-saving and emission-reducing features. Water plays an essential part in improving the workability of water-foamed asphalt mixture. However, there is still lack in profound studies of moisture dissipation of the water-foamed asphalt over time and its influence on workability. In this study, the evolutions of residual water content and rotational viscosity of the water-foamed asphalt with time were respectively measured by the analytical balance and modified rotational viscometer (RV). The atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis was conducted to discuss the mechanism of viscosity reduction of water-foamed asphalt. The results showed that moisture evaporation is significantly influenced by the foaming water content and ambient temperature, which results in the different stabilizing time of water-foamed asphalt. When water-foamed asphalt was stabilized, the residual water inside the asphalt was less than 0.01% relative to the asphalt mass. The AFM analysis showed that the foaming process changed the distribution of wax in the water-foamed asphalt resulting in reduction of viscosity. The viscosity reduction of asphalt is highly related to the initial foaming water content. After the foaming process, the viscosity keeps stable and is independent of moisture dissipation.