Evaluation of glass fibres, ethylene vinyl acetate and their combination on stone mastic asphalt

ABSTRACT Glass fibre with high tensile strength and Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) polymer may change Stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA) performance significantly due to its good performance. Therefore, the study’s main objective is to evaluate these two additives’ performances and their combination on SMA. Thus, modified bitumen’s physical properties with 3, 4 and 5% of EVA and mechanical properties of SMA made by 3, 4 and 5% of EVA and 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% of glass fibre are investigated. For this purpose, penetration, softening point, rotational viscosity, dynamic shear rheometer, resilient modulus, dynamic creep, and fatigue tests are performed. The results demonstrate that the performance graded of modified bitumen with an optimum value of 4% EVA is improved as two classes, leading to a significant improvement in the SMA performance. However, the performance of SMA containing 0.2% and 0.3% of glass fibre decreases severely due to the fragility of the fibres. The performance of the mixture in 0.1% of the fibres is slightly improved due to the reinforcement of the bitumen mortar and the lack of effect of the fibres on the overall structure of the mixture. Also, only the combination of 4% EVA with 0.1% glass fibre gives an acceptable result.