Performance and Microstructural Evaluation of Asphalt Concrete Produced with Hydrated Lime, Glass Powder and Cement Modifiers

Abstract

The increasing axle load arising from the growth in vehicular volume reduces the durability of road pavement, hence the need to further strengthen the road pavement. This research focuses on the determination of the performance of asphalt concrete in relation to the microstructural characteristics of the asphaltic concrete produced with hydrated lime, glass powder and ordinary Portland cement as modifiers. Asphalt Concrete (AC) mixes were prepared with Dangote 3X cement (D3C), Lafarge Superset cement (LSC), hydrated lime (HL) and glass powder (GP) in varying proportions of 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%. The stability and morphology of the asphalt concrete produced were determined using Marshall stability test and scanning electron microscopy respectively. AC containing GP and HL showed maximum stability of 3.61 kN and 4.01 kN respectively. The maximum stability values obtained for the samples containing D3C and LSC as fillers are 4.21 kN and 5.10 kN respectively; these stability values meet the minimum Marshall Design criteria of the Asphalt Institute. The microstructural analysis of the asphalt concrete samples showed that GP has the lowest maximum pore value of 4.39 µm2 in which the inter-particulate spaces in the AC produced with GP are small and the agglomeration of the particles indicated that they are densely packed and are characterized with good strength.