1. Asphalt Rubber Blending
By
Jack Van Kirk
Director of Asphalt
Technology
George Reed Inc.
CalAPA Fall Conference
October 28 - 29, 20015
Sacramento, CA
2. Asphalt Rubber Binder
• How do you produce it?
• Quality control?
• Binder components?
• How do you design it?
• How do you test it?
• Critical factors?
3. Asphalt Rubber Binder
• Uses a minimum of 20 +/- 2 % crumb
rubber
• Uses 10 mesh (2mm) crumb rubber
• Reacts/interacts crumb rubber for a
minimum of 45 min. at elevated
temperatures
• Modifies original properties of asphalt
cement
5. How is Asphalt Rubber Produced?
• Specialized equipment and binder
blended on-site
• High shear blender for mixing crumb
rubber with asphalt
• Reaction tank with adequate agitation
to assure proper reaction
• All materials are metered-in
6. Asphalt Rubber Blending Schematic
Crumb
Rubber
Asphalt Storage
Tank
Heat Tank
High Speed
Blender
Reaction VesselBinder
Pumped
to Plant
16. Materials Sampling
• Components of the binder must be
sampled and tested
• Asphalt rubber binder must be
sampled from a point that will
provide a representative sample
17.
18. Quality Control/Quality Assurance
• QC- testing performed
by contractor to ensure
production is in control
• QA- testing performed
to accept/reject the
product
20. Components of the
Asphalt Rubber Binder
• Crumb rubber modifier (CRM)
• Asphalt cement
• Asphalt modifier
21. Paving Asphalt
• PG 64-16 and PG 58-22 asphalt
(80 +/- 2 %) (hot environments
PG 70-10)
• Conform to Section 92 “Asphalts”
of the Standard Specifications
22. Crumb Rubber Modifier
(CRM)
• Scrap tire CRM (18 – 22 %)
• Max. 0.01 % wire (by wt. Of
CRM)
• Max. 0.05 % fabric (by wt. Of
CRM)
• It must be a very clean rubber
25. Laboratory Binder Design
• Asphalt heated to 400 to 425°F
• Asphalt modifier added to asphalt
• Crumb rubber blended into asphalt/asphalt
modifier blend
• Reacted for a minimum of 45 minutes
• Agitated (stirred) frequently during reaction
period
• Properties tested over 24 hour period
Compatibility of components
31. Softening Point
• Disc of asphalt material is
prepared
• Ball bearing placed on top
• Placed in water or glycol
• Water heated up at a slow
constant rate
• Softening point is temperature
at which ball falls through
32. Hand Held Viscometer
• Haake/Rion viscometer or equivalent
• Viscometer must be calibrated
• Viscosity range 1500 - 4000 cp
@ 375°F
• Target viscosity: hot mix binder is about 2500
- 3500 cp, chip seal binder 1800 – 2200cp
• Viscosity is a very good indicator of other
binder properties
33.
34. Critical Factors Affecting
Asphalt Rubber Binder
• Grade and source of base
asphalt
• Amount of crumb rubber
• Gradation of crumb rubber
• Reaction time and temperature
38. Current Use
Asphalt Rubber Strategies
• Asphalt Rubber Hot Mix
(Gap graded and open graded)
• Asphalt Rubber Chip Seal
• Asphalt Rubber Cape Seal
• Multi-Layer Systems