Assessment of Flexible Pavement Containing Rubberized Asphalt
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
- Asphalt: Two types of asphalt were used in the current work, bitumen of grades 40/50 and 60/70. Both types are produced in the Samawah oil refinery in Iraq for use in road pavement. Bitumen of grade 40/50 will be used for preparing the control mix, whereas bitumen of grade 60/70 will be modified with crumb rubber to represent the modified asphalt mix. The properties of the two types of asphalt can be shown in Table 1:
- Filler material: Limestone dust was produced in the Karbala quarry and used as mineral filler in the current work. The physical properties can be shown in Table 4.
- Waste tires: In the current study, scrap tires were collected from the Diwaniya rubber factory, as shown in Figure 1. Generally, tires consist of several materials, including 48% rubber hydrocarbon, 22% silica and carbon black, 15% reinforcing belts, 5% fabric cords, and 10% mix of oil, stearic acid, wax, ZnO, antidegradants, etc. [27]. The metal reinforcements of tires should be removed, and then a process of washing, cutting, and shredding is applied to the material, as depicted in Figure 2. For the purposes of this study, the CR particles were sieved, and the ones that passed through sieve No.8 (2.36 mm opening size) and were retained on sieve No.50 (0.3 mm size) were used.
3. Experimental Works
3.1. Preparation of Rubberized Asphalt
3.2. Preparation of Asphalt Concrete
3.3. Statistical Analysis
4. Results and Discussion
4.1. Resistance to Plastic Flow (Marshall Tests)
4.2. Performance (Rutting) Test
5. Conclusions and Recommendations
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
| AASHTO | American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials |
| ASTM | American Society for Testing and Materials |
| AC | Asphalt concrete |
| CR | Crumb rubber |
| OAC | Optimum asphalt content |
| SORB/R9 | Iraqi General Specifications for Roads and Bridges |
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| Laboratory Tests | Units | Bitumen Grade 40/50 | Bitumen Grade 60/70 | Standard Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penetration: 100 g at 25 °C & 5 s | 1/10 mm | 45 | 64 | ASTM D5 |
| Ductility at 25 °C & 5 cm/min | cm | 130 | 153 | ASTM D113 |
| Viscosity at 135 °C | C.s | 520 | 405 | ASTM D4402 |
| Viscosity at 165 °C | C.s | 253 | 93 | ASTM D4402 |
| Softening point (ring & ball) | °C | 53 | 49 | ASTM D36 |
| Specific gravity at 25 °C | g/cm3 | 1.04 | 1.02 | ASTM D70 |
| Flash point (Cleveland Open Cup) | °C | 250 | 233 | ASTM D92 |
| Property | Units | Results | Standard Test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk specific gravity | - | 2.62 | ASTM C127-88 |
| Bulk SSD specific gravity | - | 2.64 | ASTM C127-88 |
| Apparent specific gravity | - | 2.68 | ASTM C127-88 |
| Absorption | % | 1.2 | ASTM C127-88 |
| Air voids | % | 45.5 | ASTM C1252-23 |
| Property | Units | Results | Standard Test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk specific gravity | - | 2.62 | ASTM C127-88 |
| Bulk SSD specific gravity | - | 2.65 | ASTM C127-88 |
| Apparent specific gravity | - | 2.69 | ASTM C127-88 |
| Absorption | % | 1% | ASTM C127-88 |
| Fractured particles | % | 93% (Min 90%) | ASTM D5821-3 |
| Resistance to degradation of mineral aggregate using LA abrasion machine | % | 22% (Max 30%) | ASTM C131 |
| Property | Units | Results | Standard Test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing sieve No. 200 | % | 100 | ASTM C117 |
| Plasticity index (PI) | % | 0 (Max 4%) | SORB/R9 |
| Apparent specific gravity | - | 2.87 | - |
| Specific surface area | m2/kg | 392 | - |
| Laboratory Tests | Units | Bitumen Grade 60/70 | CR Content % | ASTM Standard Tests | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 10 | 12.5 | 15 | 17.5 | 20 | ||||
| Penetration 100 g, 25 °C, 5 s | 1/10 mm | 64 | 52 | 51 | 50 | 48 | 46 | 43 | D5 |
| Ductility at 25 °C, 5 cm/min | cm | 153 | 146 | 137 | 125 | 117 | 108 | 96 | D113 |
| Softening point (ring & ball) | °C | 49 | 51 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 56 | D36 |
| Specific gravity at 25 °C | - | 1.02 | 1.02 | 1.02 | 1.02 | 1.02 | 1.02 | 1.02 | D70 |
| Flash point (Cleveland Open Cup) | °C | 233 | 239 | 243 | 248 | 251 | 253 | 255 | D92 |
| Marshall Properties | Controlled AC Containing Asphalt Grade 40/50 | Modified AC Containing Rubberized Asphalt | SORB/R9 Specification for Surface Layer [35] | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optimum asphalt content (OAC), % | 4.93 | 5.02 | 4.0–6.0 | Accepted |
| Marshall stability, kN | 10.52 | 12.45 | Min 8.0 | Accepted |
| Marshall flow, mm | 2.64 | 2.50 | 2.0–4.0 | Accepted |
| Marshall quotient, kN/mm | 3.98 | 4.98 | Min 2.0 | Accepted |
| Voids in total mix (VTM), % | 3.93 | 4.00 | 3.0–5.0 | Accepted |
| Voids in mineral aggregate (VMA), % | 15.18 | 19.40 | Min 14 | Accepted |
| Voids filled with asphalt (VFA), % | 72.61 | 71.25 | 65–85 | Accepted |
| Mixture Property | Controlled AC (Average) | Modified AC (Average) | Standard Deviation (σ) | Coeff. of Variation (CV) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall Stability, kN | 10.52 | 12.45 | ±0.35 | 0.028 |
| Marshall Flow, mm | 2.64 | 2.5 | ±0.12 | 0.048 |
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Al-Mukaram, N.; Al-Mansoori, T.; Lafta, A.M.; Ismael, K.; Ayar, P. Assessment of Flexible Pavement Containing Rubberized Asphalt. Polymers 2026, 18, 927. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18080927
Al-Mukaram N, Al-Mansoori T, Lafta AM, Ismael K, Ayar P. Assessment of Flexible Pavement Containing Rubberized Asphalt. Polymers. 2026; 18(8):927. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18080927
Chicago/Turabian StyleAl-Mukaram, Noorance, Tariq Al-Mansoori, Ali M. Lafta, Karzan Ismael, and Pooyan Ayar. 2026. "Assessment of Flexible Pavement Containing Rubberized Asphalt" Polymers 18, no. 8: 927. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18080927
APA StyleAl-Mukaram, N., Al-Mansoori, T., Lafta, A. M., Ismael, K., & Ayar, P. (2026). Assessment of Flexible Pavement Containing Rubberized Asphalt. Polymers, 18(8), 927. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18080927

