Characterization of air-blown asphalt/trans-polyoctenamer rubber blends

Air-blown asphalt (ABA) was modified by blending with trans-polyoctenamer rubber (TOR). The thermal properties examined by differential scanning calorimetry indicated that flexible aliphatic hydrocarbons in maltene phase or paraffin wax, preferentially dissolved into the TOR phase from the ABA phase. Rheological properties examined with a rheometer by frequency sweep and temperature sweep suggested that the polymer modified asphalt is a multiphase system composed of a phase formed by maltenes, a mesoscopic phase rich in asphaltenes, and a TOR phase swelled by dissolved maltenes. The elasticity, modulus, and the temperature susceptibility of ABA were improved by modification with TOR.