Fatigue and permanent deformation characteristics of SBS polymer modified asphalt concrete mixture for paving applications

The present paper reports about the laboratory investigations carried out to determine optimum binder content for polymer modified asphalt concrete with Styrene-Butadiene- Styrene (SBS) Co-polymer (PMAC) and neat asphalt concrete mixes (AC) using modified Marshall method. Static indirect tensile test on PMAC and AC mixes were carried out to decide the stress levels for indirect tensile fatigue test. Indirect tensile fatigue tests were carried out at 30°C with different stress levels. Repeated indirect tensile tests was conducted to evaluate the permanent deformation characteristics of neat and polymer modified asphalt concrete mixtures. Average resilient modulus value is higher for PMAC when compared to AC mix. PMAC mixes have shown higher fatigue life compared to AC mixes. Rut resistance of PMAC is higher than AC. Fatigue equations developed for PMAC and AC mixes are in good agreement with the results of the published literature. © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, London.