Construction and Building Materials 34 (2012) 236–242

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Dynamic properties of stone mastic asphalt mixtures containing waste

plastic bottles
Taher Baghaee Moghaddam ⇑, Mohamed Rehan Karim, Tamalkhani Syammaun
Center for Transportation Research, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Fatigue failure is a common problem of asphaltic concrete which can lead to pavement damage. Many
Received 29 November 2011 studies have been conducted to find ways for increasing fatigue life of asphalt concrete mixtures. This
Received in revised form 3 February 2012 study investigates effects of adding waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) on stiffness and fatigue prop-
Accepted 25 February 2012
erties of SMA mixtures at optimum asphalt contents. Different percentages of waste PET with maximum
Available online 30 March 2012
size of 2.36 mm were added to SMA mixtures. Indirect tensile stiffness modulus test and indirect tensile
fatigue test were conducted at temperature of 20 °C and at three different stress levels (250, 350,
Keywords:
450 kPa). The results showed that stiffness modulus of mixture increased at lower amount of PET con-
Waste polyethylene terephthalate
Reinforced asphalt mixture
tent; however, adding higher amount of PET made mixture less stiff. In addition, PET reinforced mixtures
Stiffness modulus exhibit significantly higher fatigue lives compared to the mixtures without PET.
Fatigue life Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction because inherent structure of dense graded mixture provides bet-

Asphalt Concrete (AC) mixture is subject to many external
forces during its service life which could eventually lead to failure.
Different types of failures have been observed in asphalt mixtures
such as permanent deformation (rutting), fatigue failure, and low
temperature cracking. Fatigue failure is a common damage in AC
mixtures which appears in the form of cracking (alligator
cracking).
Fatigue resistance is the ability of the asphalt mixture to resist
repeated bending forces without fracture and cracking. In asphalt
concrete pavement fatigue cracking is caused by successive tensile
strains due to repeated traffic loading. According to structural anal-
ysis fatigue cracks are produced at the bottom of asphalt layer
where the maximum tensile strains accrue, thereafter these cracks
propagate to the surface of asphalt mixtures. Fatigue life of AC mix-
tures has a negative correlation with the loads applied by vehicles
on road pavements. Besides, fatigue life differs significantly among
types of AC mixtures.
Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) is a type of asphaltic concrete
which consists of more coarse aggregate content and filler, and
has better characteristic against permanent deformation compared
to the conventional dense graded mixture. SMA was developed in
Germany in 1960s, and was used in Europe for years. Because of
SMA success in Europe, it has been used in the United States since
1991 [1,2]. Previous studies showed that SMA mixture tends to
have lower fatigue life in comparison with dense graded mixture
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: p.baghaee@gmail.com (T. Baghaee Moghaddam).
ter interlock between the aggregate particles [3,4].
Using additives is a common way to improve fatigue life of AC
mixtures. Different types of fibers and polymers can be used in
AC mixtures. In a study, effects of adding polyester, polyacryloni-
trile, lignin and asbestos fibers with different percentages were
investigated by Xu et al. [5]. It was shown that fatigue life improved
by adding fibers, and polyester and polyacrylonitrile which are con-
sidered as polymer fibers had the best effect on fatigue properties of
AC mixtures. It is also reported that adding polypropylene fiber en-
hanced the fatigue resistance of asphalt mixtures, while fatigue life
increased 27% by adding 1% polypropylene fiber [6].
Although utilization of virgin additives in asphalt mixture can
improve fatigue properties of AC, in many cases road construction
cost increases considerably. Thus, many investigations were con-
ducted on the mixtures containing waste materials as additives
to improve asphalt mixture characteristics and prevent from im-
posed additional charges due to usage of virgin materials. Further-
more, this would be an alternative solution for environmental
pollution by utilizing waste materials as secondary materials in
road construction projects. Waste glass, steel slag, tires and plastics
(polymers) are examples of waste materials which have been used
in AC mixtures in previous studies [7]. Among waste materials
waste tire and recycled polymer have a prominent utilization
[8–13]. The use of glass fiber has also been found to improve fati-
gue life of SMA mixes according to studies by Mahrez and Karim
[14].
The main objective of this study is to investigate stiffness and
fatigue properties of SMA mixtures containing different percent-
ages of waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

0950-0618/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.02.054
 T. Baghaee Moghaddam et al. / Construction and Building Materials 34 (2012) 236–242 237

2. Experimental procedure ticles passing sieve 2.36 mm were used for this investigation (see Fig. 2). Table 3
depicts some properties of PET material.
2.1. Materials
2.2. Specimen fabrication
SMA is gap-graded AC which is used in this study. Particle size distribution of
the gradation is presented in Fig. 1. Granite-rich aggregate particles were obtained
The specimens were prepared at optimum asphalt content (OAC) using
from Kajang Rock Quarry in Malaysia. Because of the importance of aggregate qual-
Marshall Method. All together six different amounts of OACs have been obtained
ity in SMA mixtures, several tests were done on coarse and fine aggregate particles,
for six different PET contents, 6.77%, 6.45%, 6.43%, 6.29%, 6.36% and 6.51% of OAC
and the results are listed in Table 1. Furthermore, in SMA mixture amount of aggre-
each for 0%, 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8% and 1% (all by weight of aggregate particles) of
gate passing sieve 0.075 mm (filler) is higher than the amount used for conven-
PET content, respectively.
tional Hot Mix Asphalt, and is between 8% and 10% by weight of aggregate
For preparing AC mixtures, 1100 g of mixed aggregate was placed in the oven at
particles [1]. In this study 9% filler was used.
160 °C between 3 and 4 h. Asphalt binder was also heated at 130 °C before mixing
In order to prepare AC mixtures, 80–100 penetration-grade virgin asphalt has
with aggregate particles. PET particles, with the maximum size of 2.36 mm, were
been utilized. Table 2 illustrates some properties of asphalt cement which is used
added directly to the mixture as the method of dry process. Mixing temperature
in this research.
was kept constant at the temperature between 160 and165 °C. The loose mixture
PET is a type of polyester material, and is often used for packing in food and bev-
was placed in the preheated mold and 50 blows of compaction were applied by
erage industries. Waste PET was obtained from PET bottles. For utilization of PET
Marshall Hammer on each side of specimen at temperature of 140 °C.
bottles as additive in AC mixtures the bottles were cut to small parts, thereafter
crushed by crushing machine. The crushed PET particles were sieved, and the par-
2.3. Test method

2.3.1. Indirect tensile stiffness modulus test

Non-destructive indirect tensile stiffness modulus test is used to obtain stiff-
ness of AC mixtures. Indirect tensile stiffness modulus gives the relationship be-
tween stress and strain of AC mixtures at specific load and temperature. This test
was carried out by Universal Testing Machine (UTM) according to AASHTO TP31.
UTM is a computer controlled system and operates automatically. During the test,
specimens were subjected to compressive haversine waveform loads across the ver-
tical section across the thickness of specimen, and deformation of specimen was
measured by linear variable differential transducers (LVDTs) along diametrical sec-
tion of specimen. In order to obtain uniform temperature the specimens were
placed at controlled temperature environmental chamber for 4 h prior to test.
The test was conducted at three different stress levels (250, 350 and 450 kPa) and
at temperature of 20 °C.
Horizontal tensile stress and stiffness modulus of AC mixtures can be obtained
by the following equations:

2P
rx ðmaxÞ ¼ ð1Þ
pdt

P  ðm þ 0:27Þ
Sm ¼ ð2Þ
Fig. 1. Particle size distribution for stone mastic asphalt mixture. Ht

where rx(max) is the maximum horizontal tensile stress in middle of specimen; Sm is

the stiffness modulus; P, applied vertical peak load, H; amplitude of horizontal defor-
mation, t; average thickness of specimen; d, average diameter of specimen and m,
Table 1
Poisson’s ratio.
Properties of coarse and fine aggregate.
Each specimen was tested twice. After the first load repetition was applied (the
Property Value Standard test method first 10 cycles) the specimen was rotated around 90° and another cyclic load was
applied on the specimen. The final stiffness modulus was calculated as the average
Coarse aggregate
value of first and second loading repetition.
L.A. Abrasion 19.45% < 30% ASTM C 131
Flakiness index 2% < 20% BS 812 Part 105.1
Elongation index 11% < 20% BS 812 Part 105.2 2.3.2. Indirect tensile fatigue test
Specific gravity ASTM C 127 Fatigue generally is expressed as the fracture under repeated stress with a max-
Bulk 2.60 imum value generally less than tensile strength of material [6]. Fatigue life of as-
SSD 2.62 phalt mixture depends on different mixture properties such as type and amount
Apparent 2.65 of asphalt binder, air voids, and mix gradation [3]. Fatigue test can be conducted
Absorption 0.72% < 2% ASTM C 127 at controlled stress (load) or strain modes. During the controlled stress mode
amount of applied stress is kept constant, and amount of strain increases. In con-
Fine aggregate
trolled strain mode the strain value (deformation) is kept constant while the stress
Specific gravity ASTM C 128
decreases during the test [15].
Bulk 2.63
In this study, Indirect Tensile Fatigue Test (ITFT) was carried out in controlled
SSD 2.64
stress mode according to EN 12697. For running ITFT, UTM was used, and compres-
Apparent 2.66
sive cyclic load was applied along with diametrical section of specimen in the form
Absorption 0.4% < 2% ASTM C 128
of haversine waveform with 500 ms repetition time and 100 ms pulse width. ITFT
Soundness loss 4.1% < 15% ASTM C 88
was conducted at the same stress levels and temperature as were used for stiffness
modulus test.
Vertical deformation of specimen was monitored during the test. Fatigue life
was defined as the number of load repetitions reached when the specimen splits,
or deformation reaches to the maximum value of 9 mm [16].
Table 2
Horizontal tensile strain also can be obtained as the function of stress and stiff-
Properties of asphalt cement.
ness of mixture by using Eq. (3):
Properties Value Standard test method
rx ðmaxÞð1 þ 3mÞ
Penetration at 25 °C (0.1 mm) 87 ASTM D 5 ex ðmaxÞ ¼ ð3Þ
Sm
Softening point (°C) 46 ASTM D 36
Viscosity at 135 °C (mPa s) 325 ASTM D 4402
Viscosity at 170 °C (mPa s) 62.5 ASTM D 4402 ex(max) is the Maximum tensile strain at the center of specimen, rx(max) is the Max-
Specific gravity 1.03 ASTM D 70 imum tensile stress at the center of specimen, Sm is the Stiffness modulus of speci-
men and m, Poisson’s ratio (0.35 at temperature of 20 °C).
238 T. Baghaee Moghaddam et al. / Construction and Building Materials 34 (2012) 236–242

Fig. 2. Procedure to prepare crushed PET particles from PET bottles.

Table 3 of PET the mean value of three tested specimens was obtained and
Properties of PET. is shown in Fig. 3. As depicted in Fig. 3, stiffness modulus decreases
Property Used standard Value with an increase in applied stress, and in the same stress levels
Density (g/cm3) ASTM D 792 1.35
stiffness of mixtures increases initially with addition of PET fol-
Water absorption (%) ASTM D 570 0.1 lowed by a decreasing trend. Besides, it was shown that 0.2% is
Tensile strength (psi) ASTM D 638 11,500 the optimum content of PET to achieve maximum stiffness value.
Approx melting temperature (°C) – 250 The trend shows adding higher amount of PET results in less stiffer
mixtures. Besides, it can be illustrated that stiffness values differ
slightly among the stress levels at higher PET content (e.g. 1%
3. Results and discussion PET). The changes in stiffness values cannot be referred to the per-
centage of air voids in the mixtures because all the samples were
3.1. Indirect tensile stiffness modulus results fabricated at optimum asphalt content and had the same air voids.
It was reported that higher asphalt content makes mixture less
Stiffness modulus of mixtures with different percentages of PET stiffer [3,8], so the decrease in stiffness values for asphalt mixture
was obtained at different stress levels at 20 °C. For each percentage containing waste PET cannot be attributed to the percentages of

Fig. 3. Stiffness modulus test result for each percentage of PET at three stress levels.
 T. Baghaee Moghaddam et al. / Construction and Building Materials 34 (2012) 236–242
asphalt content while the optimum asphalt content for control
mixture is higher than the mixtures containing PET. In addition,
although the mixture reinforced by 0.2% PET has higher asphalt
content than mixtures containing 0.4%, 0.6% and 0.8% PET, it has
higher stiffness value in comparison with those mixtures. The pos-
sible reason for this result is attributed to mechanical characteris-
tics of PET in the mix. In fact because of high melting point of PET
(approximately 250 °C) the PET particles do not melt during mix
fabrication which is around 160 °C, so during the mix fabrication
and after heating PET properties change more or less into crystal
properties [17]. Thus, the rigid PET can make mix more flexible
and cause higher deformation under load application in the
mixture.
3.2. Indirect tensile fatigue test results
Results of ITFT for each percentage of PET content are depicted
in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 presents relationship between stress, or strain, and
fatigue life (Nf) in logarithm scale with linear relationships. Test re-
sults indicate that PET reinforced asphalt mixtures have consider-
ably higher fatigue lives in comparison with control mixtures (the
mixture without PET), and adding higher amount of PET results in
higher fatigue life. For instance, fatigue life for the mixture contain-
ing 1% PET increased by 124.8% at 250 kPa stress level when Nf in-
creased from 27,571 to 61,981 cycles. It can be seen that AC
mixtures tends to have lower fatigue lives at higher stress levels.
Some literatures indicate that there was a direct relationship
between fatigue life and stiffness of mixtures [3,14]. In other
words, stiffer mixtures had better characteristics against fatigue
damage. Nevertheless, there is not any exact correlation between
these two AC characteristics. As the result obtained in this study
showed however PET reinforced mixtures are less stiff; they had
longer fatigue lives compared to the mixture without PET. The in-
crease in fatigue life is consistent with previous studies on using
Fig. 4. Relationship between cycles to failure and Stress (and Strain).
239
fibers in SMA mixtures conducted by Ye et al. [18]. Higher fatigue
life of PET reinforced mixtures may be attributed to improvement
of elastic property of asphalt mixtures containing PET which can
postpone fatigue damage due to numerous numbers of load appli-
cations, or because of distraction of stress, which is generated in
mixture, by PET particles.
3.3. Prediction models for fatigue characteristic of PET reinforced
mixtures
Usually using fatigue prediction models are helpful in order to
predict fatigue characteristics of asphalt mixture at specific tem-
perature, asphalt binder, air voids and specific gradation. In order
to predict fatigue characteristics of control and PET reinforced
SMA mixtures two models are proposed in this study. These mod-
els are created based on the relationship existing between stress,
or strain, and fatigue life as are presented in Eqs. (4) and (5):
 
1
Nf ¼ A n ð4Þ
r
 
1
Nf ¼ a b ð5Þ
e
where Nf is the number of load cycles to failure, r is applied stress, e
is initial strain, and A, n, a and b are regression coefficients (fatigue
parameters) which are related to mixture properties.
Fatigue prediction models for mixtures with different percent-
ages of PET content were calculated by SPSS software using regres-
sion analysis, and are presented in Table 4. Data obtained indicate
that there are strong correlations between stress, or strain, and fa-
tigue lives of mixtures. Also, there are substantial differences in
case of fatigue parameters among control and PET reinforced mix-
tures (see Figs. 5 and 6).
240 T. Baghaee Moghaddam et al. / Construction and Building Materials 34 (2012) 236–242

Table 4
Fatigue prediction models for control and PET reinforced mixtures.

PET (%) r (kPa) e(106) Nf (Cycles) Fatigue model Correlation coefficient

0 250 118.41 27,571 17

1 5:645 0.987
Nf ¼ 9  10  r
350 176.90 3011
4:251 0.969
Nf ¼ 1:5  1013  1e
450 257.25 1031
0.2 250 113.99 34,371
5:935 0.983
Nf ¼ 5  1018  r1
350 167.13 3191 13

1 4:624 0.96
Nf ¼ 9  10  e
450 250.75 1091
0.4 250 119.08 46,771
6:247 1.00
Nf ¼ 4:5  1019  r1
350 175.47 5641 14

1 4:968 0.996
Nf ¼ 9  10  e
450 249.59 1191
0.6 250 121.82 56,031
6:352 1.00
Nf ¼ 9:5  1019  r1
350 176.64 6551
5:197 0.995
Nf ¼ 3:5  1015  1e
450 250.70 1341
0.8 250 122.46 57,781
6:303 1.00
Nf ¼ 7:5  1019  r1
350 176.59 6981
5:156 0.998
Nf ¼ 3  1015  1e
450 251.36 1421
1 250 134.83 61,981
6:178 1.00
Nf ¼ 4  1019  r1
350 191.49 7761
5:747 1.00
Nf ¼ 1  1017  1e
450 253.85 1641

Fig. 5. Coefficients of A and n in fatigue prediction equations for PET reinforced and
control mixtures. Fig. 6. Coefficients of a and b in fatigue prediction equations for PET reinforced and
control mixtures.

3.4. Deformation (Displacement)

In asphalt mixtures crack formation created at the center of the
specimen where the maximum tensile stress and strain occur, then
propagates along the two sides of specimen. Fig. 7 illustrates dis-
placement of control mixes compared to those containing 1%
PET. As can be seen there are three phases for the displacement
of the specimens as defined by law of displacement or deforma-
tion. These three stages included rapid displacement phase which
is normally because of compacting the mixture due to existing air
voids in the mixture. The second stage is elastic zone with low lev-
els of displacement and usually called as a stable phase. The third
stage is called plastic zone and is an unstable phase for crack-
growth in the mixture.
As can be seen in Fig. 7 section a, control mixture and the mix-
ture reinforced by 1% PET reach nearly the same displacement at
the beginning of second phase which is around 2 mm; however,
more differences can be observed among these two values at high-
er stress levels. Further, displacement for control and PET rein-
forced mixture have the same value (5 mm) at 250 stress level
and at the end of elastic phase and this value decreased for control
 T. Baghaee Moghaddam et al. / Construction and Building Materials 34 (2012) 236–242
Fig. 7. Displacement vs Fatigue life at different stress levels.
mixture at higher stress levels and reach to the values of 4 and
3 mm for 350 and 450 Kpa stress, respectively. It is good to note
that at higher stress levels higher deformation is required for PET
reinforced mixture to go to plastic zone compared to the control
mixtures, and the values remain constant at the value of 5 mm at
different stress levels.
In addition, as can be illustrated in Fig. 7 length of second stage
(elastic phase) for the mixture containing 1% PET is considerably
longer compared to the control mixture. From the result it can be
concluded that PET improved elastic property of mixture. Based
on the displacement crack propagation law and characteristics of
the mixtures containing PET particles it is concluded that PET rein-
forced mixture is more likely to have plastic fracture in comparison
with the control mixture which is more likely to have brittle
fracture.
4. Conclusion
In this study, effects of adding different percentages of waste
PET particles with maximum size of 2.36 mm were investigated
on stiffness and fatigue properties of SMA mixtures. Further fatigue
prediction models were proposed. The results are summarized as
follows:
1. Stiffness was changed by adding PET particles. It was shown
that although stiffness of SMA mixture initially increased by
adding lower amount of waste PET into the mixtures, it
decreased at higher amount of PET content (e.g. 1% PET).
2. Fatigue properties of SMA mixture improved significantly
for PET reinforced mixture compared to the control mixture,
and mixtures containing higher amount of PET had higher
fatigue lives.
241
3. This study implies that elastic property of asphalt mixture
improved by adding PET that makes mixture more flexible,
and prevents from crack initiation and propagation in mix-
tures due to cyclic load application.
Acknowledgment
The authors gratefully acknowledge Mr. Mohd Khairul Anwar
for his supporting role in the implementation of this research
program.
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