Rheological Study: Temperature Properties of SBS Asphalt Under the Influence of Nano-Al₂O₃

SBS (styrenic block copolymers)-modified asphalt is a widely studied and applied pavement material. However, its performance has the potential to be further improved. Several studies have been conducted to demonstrate that nano-Al₂O₃ can be effective in enhancing the performance of asphalt. The property changes that occur in SBS-modified asphalt in the presence of nanomaterials are less discussed. Therefore, nano-Al₂O₃ was used as a modifier in this study to discuss the changes in the rheological and storage stability properties of SBS-modified asphalt. The rheological properties of asphalt samples were evaluated by Multiple stress creep recovery test, dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) and bending beam rheometer with different nano-Al₂O₃ contents (1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%). The storage stability of the asphalt was also determined by a separation test. The results showed that the nano-Al₂O₃ had significant improvement on the high-temperature rutting resistance, low-temperature deformation ability, aging resistance and storage stability of the modified asphalt. Comparing the modification effect of different doping amounts and the relevant specification requirements, the best modification amount of nano-Al₂O₃ should be 2–5%.