Rubber‐like thermosetting epoxy asphalt composites exhibiting atypical yielding behaviors

Rubber‐like thermosetting epoxy asphalt composites (REACs) were prepared by curing epoxy resin (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A) with curing agents system made up of maleated petroleum asphalt, adipic acid, and methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride. REACs' glass transition temperatures ( T g ) and mechanics performances were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and universal tester, respectively. DSC results indicated that REACs had homogeneous phase structures, and their T g were lower than room temperature. Large elongation at break (ε b ), as high as 150–286%, and atypical yielding behaviors similar to so‐called “hard elastic” thermoplastics were observed simultaneously for the first time as to thermosetting epoxy composites at room temperature. The striking characteristics of REACs were ascribed to the formation of unique asphalt‐filled bimodal networks, consisting of simultaneous cured maleated asphalt short‐chain and dicarboxylic acid long‐chain interpenetrating bimodal networks and wherewith filled unmaleated asphalt. The experimental results suggest that these inexpensive REACs may find promising applications in many engineering fields.