Performance evaluation of high-elastic asphalt mixture containing deicing agent Mafilon

Snow and ice on pavement surface in winter cause traffic safety issues due to the reduced skid resistance between tires and pavement surface. This study applies a high-elastic asphalt (HEA) mixture containing deicing agent Mafilon (MFL) to improve the snowmelt/deicing performance and the functional performance of asphalt pavement. The HEA was produced by adding a high-elastic modifier to the regular styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) modified asphalt. The asphalt mixtures containing MFL were produced by replacing 70% of the mineral fillers in regular asphalt mixture with MFL. Three types of asphalt mixtures were investigated to make a comparison study: the regular SBS asphalt mixture, SBS asphalt mixture containing MFL (SBS-MFL), and the HEA mixture containing MFL (HEA-MFL). The pavement functional performance and snowmelt/deicing performance were evaluated. The functional performance covered the rutting resistance, low temperature performance, and moisture damage resistance, which were evaluated through the dynamic stability test, three point beam bending test, and tensile strength ratio test, respectively. The snowmelt performance was evaluated through an outdoor snow melting observation and measurement. The deicing performance was evaluated through a sponge lift test and a mixture-ice bond shear strength test. The experimental results showed that the SBS-MFL mixture performed weaker than the regular SBS mixture in rutting resistance, low temperature cracking resistance, and moisture damage resistance. However, the HEA-MFL mixture showed remarkably better rutting resistance and low temperature performance than the regular SBS mixture, with only a slightly weaker moisture damage resistance. In terms of the snowmelt/deicing performance, the HEA-MFL mixture performed much better than the regular SBS mixture regards of the higher snow melting speed and lower mixture-ice bond strength. The findings in this study indicate that the HEA-MFL mixture has a great potential to be applied in asphalt pavement for the purposes of performance improving and snowmelt/deicing.