Modeling the rutting kinetics of the sulfur-extended asphalt

In the present article we have summarized the rutting resistance testing results of the sulfur extended asphalt. The results were obtained with help of three different methods - RU GOST 12801-98, AASHTO TP 63 and AASHTO T 324. It was confirmed that AASHTO test results adequately describe the ability of asphalt concrete to resist irreversible plastic deformation by repeated wheel load. It is found that rutting resistance of the sulfur extended asphalt can be in 1.3...3.7 times higher if compared with the rutting resistance of conventional asphalt concrete. To describe the kinetics of the rutting we have proposed the additive parametric model that represents two simultaneous processes - late densification and plastic flow. The parameters of the model are determined on the basis of the experimental data. It is shown that the rate of plastic flow monotonically decrease with the increase of the sulfur amount; this also demonstrates the high rutting resistance of the sulfur extended asphalt. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.