Investigating the Rutting Behavior of Modified Asphalt Mixtures with Waste Materials

Recycling of waste materials has significant environmental and economic advantages. Plastic containers and steel slag waste solids were incorporated in Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) and the rutting performance of modified asphalt mixtures was investigated. Slab specimens with three percentage of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) including 3, 5 and 7 percent in two forms (PET particles and PET fibers) were prepared and wheel tracking test was performed. For various samples, rutting profiles were modeled by the Zhou model in the MATLAB environment. It was found that modified samples had better capability to resist permanent deformation. Induced rutting depth was the lowest for specimens modified with 5 percent PET followed by 7 and 3 percent, respectively. Moreover, adding PET in the form of fiber was more effective and exhibited the lowest damage ratio. Based on the obtained results, modified samples with 5 percent PET fiber caused 35 percent less rutting. According to life cycle ratio analysis, in average S-5P-F lasted 3.35 times more than the slag control sample.