Physical properties of graphene-oxide modified asphalt and performance analysis of its mixtures using response surface methodology

ABSTRACT

In this work, the effect of graphene oxide (GO) on the physical performance related properties of an asphalt binder was investigated in terms of penetration, softening point, viscosity (110–185°C), and ductility as well as temperature performance indices. Subsequently, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to examine the influence of GO and asphalt contents on the volumetric and strength properties of the asphalt mixture. Marshall stability/flow and indirect tensile strength (ITS) tests were performed on the compacted mixtures. Then, the RSM based on the central composite design (CCD) was utilised to analyse the effects of the preparation parameters and conduct mathematical modelling for the response variables’ predictions. According to the results, the addition of GO significantly enhanced the physical properties of the asphalt. The RSM analysis showed that the tensile strength, stability, and plastic flow, coupled with the volumetric characteristics of the asphalt mixture were highly influenced by variations in the preparations. The proposed models were well-fitted to the actual results with a high degree of correlation. Furthermore, numerical optimisation results presented 1.8% of the GO and 5.3% of the asphalt content as the optimum proportions of the mixture to achieve the maximum desired responses.

KEYWORDS:

• Graphene-oxide
• binder
• temperature susceptibility
• physical properties
• asphalt mixture
• response surface methodology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant number 11925206.