Reaction ability of alternative mineral dispersed materials as a tool for developing efficient road composites

Abstract

The avalanche-like growth of traffic intensity and freight traffic, the tightening of requirements for the quality of road clothes, the shortage of conditioned mineral raw materials in many regions of the Russian Federation prompt the construction materials science sector to search for new, promising methods for improving the quality of products. Road construction, one of the most material-intensive areas, is focused on maximizing the use of local, often non-conditioning materials, so composites made on their basis do not meet modern operational requirements. In this paper, a number of porous fine dispersed fillers have been investigated that could perform, on the one hand, the functions of a mineral powder, and on the other hand, serve as the carrier of a certain substance that regulates the properties of a road composite. The identification of the mechanism of interaction of mineral powders with bitumen was carried out by studying surface, physical-mechanical and chemical properties, as well as microstructural features and reactivity. It was found that the high porosity characteristic of fillers from perlite and zeolite is due to the highly developed pore architecture with the diameter of the entrance windows in a wide range. The study of the chemistry of the surface of a solid was carried out by evaluating the surface on which there are active centers due to the presence of hydroxyl groups and impurity centers. By the results of the experiment, it was found that an increase in the content of active sites on the surface of a mineral filler is directly proportional to its porosity. As a result of the conducted studies it was established that zeolites are the most promising raw material for organomineral composites. They have a developed specific surface, unique pore architecture, high structuring and adsorption capacity.