Induction heating of mastic containing conductive fibers and fillers

The objective of this research is to examine the induction heating of mastic through the addition of electrically conductive fillers and fibers (graphite and steel wool), and to prove that this material can be healed with induction energy. The effect of fibers content, sand-bitumen ratio and the combination of fillers and fibers on the induction heating of mastic was investigated. It was found that there is an optimum content of fibers for each sand-bitumen ratio, above which mastic cannot be heated any more. This optimum seems to coincide with the optimum electrical conductivity of the mixture shown in [1]. It was found that the maximum temperature reached within a certain time period was a function of the sand-bitumen ratio (s-b) and of the volume content of fibers. The mastic could be heated with the addition of a very low volume of conductive fibers. The fastest heating power was obtained with the mix with the maximum electrical conductivity. Gel-Permeation Chromatography (GPC) was also used to show that there is not ageing of bitumen during the heating process.