Film formation properties of asphalt emulsion under ambient temperature drying

The film formation properties of asphalt emulsion under ambient temperature drying are important to the mechanical properties of cold asphalt emulsion mixture. Nevertheless, the importance of these properties is not fully understood yet. The dynamic modulus and bonding ability of emulsion residue were studied to characterise the film formation properties of asphalt emulsion. The maximum packing fraction of asphalt droplets (phi (m)) formed during drying was proposed to quantitatively characterise the film structure of emulsion residue. The relationship between the film properties and phi (m) of asphalt emulsion was studied to reveal the mechanism for the different film formation properties of asphalt emulsions. Results showed that the residue properties of different asphalt emulsions could be significantly different due to the various film structure of emulsion residue formed under ambient temperature drying. The dynamic modulus and bonding ability of emulsion residue can linearly increase with the phi (m) of asphalt emulsion. Besides, the phi (m) of asphalt emulsion is decreased with the increasing asphalt droplet size. Therefore, to ensure higher dynamic modulus and bonding ability of emulsion residue, asphalt emulsion with small droplets size is recommended.

Automated summary

The film formation properties of asphalt emulsion under ambient temperature drying have a significant impact on the mechanical properties of cold asphalt emulsion mixture. This study focuses on the dynamic modulus and bonding ability of emulsion residue to characterize the film formation properties. A quantitative measurement, the maximum packing fraction of asphalt droplets (phi (m)), is proposed to analyze the film structure. The results indicate that the residue properties of different asphalt emulsions vary due to the different film structure formed during drying. Furthermore, the dynamic modulus and bonding ability of emulsion residue increase linearly with the phi (m) of asphalt emulsion, while phi (m) decreases as the asphalt droplet size increases. Therefore, using asphalt emulsion with smaller droplet size is recommended for higher dynamic modulus and bonding ability of emulsion residue.