Evaluation of the compatibility between rubber and asphalt based on molecular dynamics simulation

Using of rubber asphalt can both promote the recycling of waste tires and improve the performance of asphalt pavement. However, the segregation of rubber asphalt caused by the poor storage stability always appears during its application. Storage stability of asphalt and rubber is related to the compatibility and also influenced by rubber content. In this study, molecular models of different rubbers and chemical fractions of asphalt were built to perform the molecular dynamics simulation. The solubility parameter and binding energy between rubber and asphalt were obtained to evaluate the compatibility between rubber and asphalt as well as the influence of rubber content on compatibility. Results show that all three kinds of rubber are commendably compatible with asphalt, where the compatibility between asphalt and cispolybutadiene rubber (BR) is the best, followed by styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), and natural rubber (NR) is the worst. The optimum rubber contents for BR asphalt, SBR asphalt, and NR asphalt were determined as 15%, 15%, and 20%, respectively. In addition, the upper limits of rubber contents were found as between 25% and 30%, between 20% and 25%, and between 25% and 30%, respectively.