Pavement Performance and Particulate Matter Reduction for Warm Mix Asphalt Using Geopolymer Additives

Geopolymer can be used as a novel additive for warm mix asphalt without compromising the quality of the resulting pavement. To analyze the applicability of geopolymer towards typical paving operations and environmental protection, the present work reports a laboratory investigation on the pavement performance and emissions inhibition effect of geopolymer additives. Based on the experimental results, the addition of geopolymer (i.e., 0.3 wt% and 3.0 wt% of asphalt mixture) to asphalt mixture lowers the measured air voids with the same optimal asphalt content. The moisture sensitivity is similar, the rutting potential decreases, and the crack resistance at low temperature improves. Moreover, it was found that the addition of geopolymer at 3.0 wt% dosage was effective for the inhibition of particulate matter emissions and postponed the pollution time during asphalt production. Overall, 3.0 wt% dosage of geopolymer is a good additive for reducing mixing and compacting temperatures which can be easily added to hot mix asphalt.