Open Access
ARTICLE
Road Performance, Thermal Conductivity, and Temperature Distribution of Steel Slag Rubber Asphalt Surface Layer
Zhiqiang Shu, Jianmin Wu*, Shaoqing Li, Bingbing Zhang, Jianqi Yang
Key Laboratory of Special Area Highway Engineering of Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, Xi’an, 710064, China
* Corresponding Author: Jianmin Wu. Email:
Journal of Renewable Materials 2021, 9(2), 365-380. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2021.014379
Received 22 September 2020; Accepted 27 October 2020; Issue published 15 December 2020
Abstract
The use of steel slag, which is a by-product of the steel manufacture, in the construction of asphalt pavement
would contribute to waste reduction and environment protection. Using rubber asphalt at the same time can
improve the performance of asphalt mixture. This study investigates the influence of steel slag content on the road
performance, thermal conductivity and outdoor temperature distribution of steel slag rubber asphalt mixtures
(SSRAM), and calculates the cumulative stress in surface layer. At a certain range of concentration, the steel slag
additive improved the deformation resistance and low-temperature cracking resistance of the mixtures. The
SSRAM with 40% steel slag content has the best deformation resistance while SSRAM with 60% steel slag content
performed well in low-temperature cracking resistance. The thermal conductivity of the SSRAM with different
steel slag content (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100%) was 1.994, 2.188, 2.239, 2.255, 2.288, and 2.295 W/(m·K),
respectively. Measurements of the outdoor temperature distribution further confirmed that steel slag increased
the thermal conductivity of the mixtures, thereby increasing the cumulative temperature difference between
the top and bottom layers. The temperature stress and temperature-stress ratio of the SSRAM with 40% steel slag
were 0.43 MPa and 0.24, while the SSRAM with 100% steel slag were 0.58 MPa and 0.36. The stress and stress
ratio were much higher in the SSRAM with 100% steel slag than in the specimen with 40% steel slag. Accordingly,
the maximum accumulated temperature stress aggrandized and caused early temperature cracks in the surface
layer. The optimum content of steel slag was 40%.
Keywords
Cite This Article
Shu, Z., Wu, J., Li, S., Zhang, B., Yang, J. (2021). Road Performance, Thermal Conductivity, and Temperature Distribution of Steel Slag Rubber Asphalt Surface Layer.
Journal of Renewable Materials, 9(2), 365–380. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2021.014379