Suggested Citation:
Zhang, Hengji, Hui Li, Ahmed Abdelhady, Dingcheng Mo, John T. Harvey (2019) Utilization of Fine Solid Waste in Asphalt Mortar. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Journal Article UCD-ITS-RP-19-45

Asphalt mortar consists of asphalt and filler and exerts a vital influence on the performance of asphalt materials. Nowadays, plenty of fine solid waste with extremely different physical and chemical properties has been reused in asphalt materials. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the effect of reusing fine solid waste as filler on the performance of asphalt mortar and investigate the possibility of utilizing the fine solid waste in asphalt mortar. Firstly, a scanning electron microscope was used to investigate the microstructure of limestone ore powder, fly ash, diatomite, and red mud. Secondly, the workability, high temperature property, and adhesion ability of asphalt mortars with different filler types and volume ratios have been examined. Thirdly, a critical filler-bitumen ratio range was recommended in view of the aforesaid performances. Finally, analysis of variance was applied to study the relationship between the relative performance of asphalt mortar and physical properties of filler. The results indicated that the Rigden Void of the filler exerts an important influence on the workability and high temperature performance of asphalt mortar, while no significant effect was observed on the elastic and adhesion capacity of the asphalt mortar. Hence, the Rigden Void can be considered a more effective index than the fineness modulus to describe the geometric features of fillers. In addition, asphalt mortar with diatomite and red mud exhibited improvement in the high temperature property and adhesion ability in the case of dry and moist conditions.

Key words: Fine solid waste, diatomite, red mud, Rigden Void, asphalt mortar