Evaluation of Polybutadiene Rubber Modified Bitumen : Rheology and Morphology

During the last decade increase in axle roads, heavy traffic, sever climatic conditions and construction failures led to a need to enhance the properties of the base bitumen [1].Therefore, bitumen is frequently modified by various polymeric materials [2]. From chemical point of view bitumenhas been considered as mixture of many components with a range of solubility parameters. It was observed that solubility parameter of polymer modifier needs to be close to 17-18 , corresponding to solubility parameter of the aromatic fraction of bitumen [3]. In this study compatibilityand interaction between a high cis 1, 4-Polybutadiene rubber (PBR) and a 60/70 penetration grad bitumen has been investigated in the concentration range of X: 0-7 wt%