ABSTRACT
Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) has received significant attention in both technology advancement and implementation due to its potential benefits in improving sustainability of asphalt pavements. The evaluation of WMA additives has gained momentum to ensure performance and durability requirements of asphalt mixes are met or exceeded. As a result, numerous research studies have investigated the performance of WMA technologies in terms of moisture sensitivity and susceptibility to cracking. However, the effect of WMA additives on the mechanical properties of asphalt mixes in compression state are not as thoroughly investigated. Thus, there is a need for assessment and realistic prediction of the performance of WMA mixes, especially in the state of compression (rutting). The main objective of this study is to characterize mechanistically various WMA technologies and assess their performance in comparison with HMA. This is carried out mechanistically through Viscoelastoplastic Continuum Damage (VEPCD) modeling in compression state. The VEPCD model, which is originally developed for HMA mixes, is shown to be sensitive and applicable to be used for the characterization and comparison of WMA mixes. The results show that the effect of WMA additives on the mechanical performance of asphalt mixes varies from one additive to the other. Also, it is portrayed that there is an interaction between the type of the WMA additive and the binder that is used revealing that the effect of one additive might differ depending whether a neat or polymer modified binder is used.
