Abstract

Bituminous mixes are most commonly used all over the world in flexible pavementconstruction. It consists of asphalt or bitumen (used as a binder) and mineral aggregate whichare mixed together, laid down in layers and then compacted. Under normal circumstances, conventional bituminous pavements if designed and executed properly perform quitesatisfactorily but the performance of bituminous mixes is very poor under various situations. Today�s asphaltic concrete pavements are expected to perform better as they are experiencingincreased volume of traffic, increased loads and increased variations in daily or seasonaltemperature over what has been experienced in the past. In addition, the performance ofbituminous pavements is found to be very poor in moisture induced situations. Consideringthis a lot of work has been done on use of additives in bituminous mixtures and as well as onmodification of bitumen. Research has indicated that the addition of polymers to asphaltbinders helps to increase the interfacial cohesiveness of the bond between the aggregate andthe binder which can enhance many properties of the asphalt pavements to help meet these increased demands. However, the additive that is to be used for modification of mix or bindershould satisfy both the strength requirements as well as economical aspects. Plastics are everywhere in today�s lifestyle and are growing rapidly throughout particularly ina developing country like India. As these are non-biodegradable there is a major problem posed to the society with regard to the management of these solid wastes. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) has been found to be a good modifier of bitumen. Even, the reclaimed polyethylene originally made of LDPE has been observed to modify bitumen. In the present study, an attempt has been made to use reclaimed polyethylene which has been obtained fromplastic packets used in packaging of milk , in dry form with the aggregates like a fibre in a bituminous mix. Detailed study on the effects of these locally waste polyethylene on engineering properties of Bituminous concrete (BC), mixes, has been made in this study. The present locally available polyethylene used as stabilizer in Bituminous Concrete(BC) mixes to fulfil the present requirements of paving mixes. Optimum binder content (OBC) andoptimum polyethylene content (OPC) have been derived by using Marshall Procedure. The OBCs have been found to be 5.8% for Bituminous Concrete by using stone dust as filler.After replacement of some gradation of fine aggregate with filler and considering fly ash as filler the OPCs have been found to be 12% of polyethylene for all types of mixes. Then considering OBC and OPC for Bituminous concrete(BC) mixes have been prepared and different performance tests like Drain down test, Static indirect tensile Strength Test and Static Creep test have been carried out to evaluate the effects of vi polyethylene as an stabilizer on mix properties. It is concluded from present investigation that addition of Polyethylene to mixes improve the mix properties like Marshall Stability, Drain down characteristics and indirect tensile strength.

Description