Evaluating The Effects of Micro and Nano Size of Silica Filler on Asphalt Cement Properties

This research study examines the practicability of using micro and nano size silica to improve the asphalt characteristics. Asphalt cement penetration grade of (60 /70) was prepared using (0%, 2%, 4% and 6%) of silica filler by weight of asphalt and investigated in terms of the softening point, penetration, and penetration index, viscosity, and ductility values. To modify the asphalt binder, the silica powder was mixed by a mechanical blender set at (2000) rpm at a mixing temperature of 140°C. However, the main challenge is an agglomeration of nano-silica powder which can reduce the ductility of nano silica modified binder. Therefore, this paper studies the efficiency of mixing period to obtain a homogeneous composite binder while alleviating the agglomeration issue. To do so, the effect of periods of mixing ranged between (30 to 60) minutes were examined on characteristics of modified asphalt binders. Overall, the addition of silica filler has an encouraging impact on the asphalt binder rheological properties. Also, the ductility value decreases with the addition of nano-silica content, attributed to the huge surface area and degree of agglomeration. Furthermore, results exhibited that 6% of micro silica powder and 4 % of nano silica powder were reasonable to develop the rheological properties.