Impacts of high modulus agent and anti-rutting agent on performances of airfield asphalt pavement

•The multiple-polymers generally had excellent high temperature resistances.•Compared with SBS, HM and ARA modifiers had more noticeable influence on the binders.•HM and ARA modifiers can change initial values of phase angle and their trends with frequency.•HM polymer modifiers had somewhat negative effects on the performances at low temperatures.•The multiple-polymer modified asphalts had better adhesion with aggregates and thus exhibited great rutting resistance. Polymer modifiers have been widely used in asphalt binders to improve the high temperature performances and rutting resistances in airfield pavement. The objective of this study was to investigate the high and low temperature performances of three polymers and styrene–butadienestyrene (SBS) modified binders before and after a short-term aging procedure, and the performances of their corresponding mixtures. A series of tests were performed to determine the effects of polymers on the binders and mixtures, such as rheological properties of the modified binders and engineering performances of mixtures at high and low temperatures. The test results show that, compared with the SBS modified binders, the polymer modifiers remarkably influenced on the virgin binders, and the high temperature performance of virgin binders with a high polymer modifiers content is similar to that of the SBS modified binders, but both SBS and polymers have negative impacts on low temperature performance. In terms of asphalt mixture, the polymer can enhance the adhesion of asphalt to improve the rutting resistance, and has appreciable effect on dynamic stability and moisture stability, but only the SBS modified asphalt mixtures with polymers have better pavement performance, the polymer modified virgin asphalt mixtures are still not applicable to the airfield pavement.