Abstract

Asphalt pavements are generally composed of fine and coarse aggregates, bitumen, and modifier. Asphalt pavement wear particles (APWPs) are produced by friction between the road surface and the tire tread, and they flow into the environment such as rivers and oceans. Model APWPs were prepared and a single APWP of 212-500 (S-APWP) and 500-1000 μm (L-APWP) was analyzed using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to investigate inhomogeneity in the compositions of the APWPs. The reference TGA thermogram was built using thermograms of the raw materials and formulation of the model asphalt pavement. The compositions of the APWPs were different from each other. Ash contents of the APWPs were lower than expected. Inhomogeneity in the total contents of bitumen and modifier was more severe than that in the other components. The inhomogeneity of the S-APWPs was more severe than that of the L-APWPs.

Keywords: asphalt pavement wear particle (APWP);inhomogeneity;thermogravimetric analysis (TGA);reference thermogram;wear particle size