Laboratory Investigation on the Rutting and Fracture Resistance of Hot-Mix Asphalt Containing Nanographene Oxide

The use of nanomaterials has brought about a huge revolution in the development of various industries. Moreover, in the pavement industry, researchers have been applying nanomaterials for many years due to their unique properties to enhance the features of asphalt mixtures and increase their resistance to various failures. In this study, nanographene oxide (GO) has been used in the amount of 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8 percent of consumed bitumen to improve the low-temperature cracking resistance and the high-temperature rutting resistance of hot-mix asphalt (HMA). For this purpose, to examine the impact of this material on the HMA, the semicircular bending (SCB) fracture test and Hamburg wheel tracking (HWT) test were applied. In addition, conventional bitumen tests were performed to investigate the impact of nanoGO on virgin bitumen in this study. The outcomes of conventional bitumen experiments displayed that the addition of nanoGO to pure bitumen augments viscosity, specific gravity, and softening point and reduces the penetration and ductility of pure bitumen. Furthermore, outcomes of the SCB fracture test indicated that nanoGO enhances the stress intensity factor (SIF) of the asphalt mixture and improves the low-temperature cracking resistance of asphalt specimens. Moreover, the addition of nanoGO to the asphalt mixture increased rutting resistance and decreased rutting depth. In addition, the results of the ANCOVA statistical analysis demonstrated the significant effect of this nanomaterial on the improvement of the low-temperature cracking resistance and the rutting resistance of HMA.