Study on Rheological Properties of Nano Titanium Dioxide High-Viscosity Modified Asphalt

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The research on nano titanium dioxide (nano-TiO2)-modified asphalt has received increasing attention. However, further studies are required in order to ascertain the influence of the phenomenon under discussion on the rheological characteristics and ability to resist deformation of bitumen. In the present study, modified bitumen was formulated by adding nano titanium dioxide. Physical property tests, temperature scanning tests, frequency scanning tests, repeated creep recovery tests, bending creep stiffness tests, and long-term aging performance experiments were carried out on the specimen of asphalt that had undergone the process of modification in order to assess the rheological characteristics and ability to resist unrecoverable deformation of the modified bitumen at different temperatures, both high and low. The outcomes of the repeated creep recovery experiment were analyzed using Burgers and fractional derivative models. The microstructure of nano-TiO2 high-viscosity modified asphalt was observed by Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM). In order to ascertain the manner in which base bitumen and nano-TiO2 interact, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was utilized in the study. The results show that the thermal stability and prolonged aging resistant properties of the modified bitumen binder improved, but nano-TiO2 made the asphalt binder weaker and more likely to crack at lower temperatures. Taking into account the variation in the road performance of the bitumen binder, 6% is recommended as the optimal amount of nano-TiO2. Nano-TiO2 was mainly uniformly distributed in asphalt and nano-TiO2 was physically mixed with asphalt. In comparison with the Burgers model, the present fractional derivative empirical creep model can fit the creep test data of the asphalt binder well with the advantages of high accuracy and few parameters. The research results provide a reference for promoting the implementation of modified bitumen incorporating nano-TiO2.