COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL ASPHALT AND RUBBER-MODIFIED ASPHALT

It is expected that road pavements exhibit properties to withstand the mechanical stresses generated by traffic and climatic actions. Rubber-modified asphalt is an alternative to mitigate issues encountered in the conventional asphalt wearing course. The addition of rubber to asphalt mixtures provides an enhancement against the emergence of various pathological manifestations in the surface layer and consequently, in the underlying pavement layers. The utilization of this modified asphalt influences durability, comfort, and maintenance costs of pavements. These aspects are highly relevant given the inadequate maintenance culture in the country. Moreover, there is a reduction in the quantity of discarded tires in nature, minimizing the harmful effects that tires impose on natural resources, the environment, and the population. Based on this context, the objective of this study is to conduct a comparative performance analysis between conventional asphalt and rubber-modified asphalt. Unfortunately, the asphalt-rubber mixtures tested in this study do not outperform conventional asphalt mixtures, and they cannot be used in flexible pavement as a wearing course.