Xuwen Zhong

Currently, research on the modification mechanisms of activated rubber/SBS (styrene–butadiene–styrene) composites and the microscopic processes involved remains limited. To investigate the impact of the rubber activation treatment combined with SBS modifier on asphalt modification, this study employs composite-modified asphalt formulations using either a conventional mix or activated rubber in conjunction with SBS. Infrared spectroscopy (IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized to analyze the chemical components and microscopic morphology of the composite-modified asphalt following activation treatment. Microscopic analysis revealed that the asphalt stirred for 20 min has a characteristic peak with a wave number of 966 cm⁻¹, while the characteristic peak with a wave number of 700 cm⁻¹ is not obvious. That is, the asphalt sample contains the polybutadiene component and a reduced amount of the polystyrene component. Therefore, it can be inferred that the asphalt sample only contains activated rubber, along with less SBS modifier content. Traditional rubber undergoes significant expansion reactions during the mixing stage, but there are difficulties in degradation, which leave large particles and reduce the proportions of the lightweight asphalt components. However, active rubber and SBS mainly expand and degrade more completely during the shear stage, forming many micro-volume particles in asphalt. Additionally, frequency scanning and multiple creep recovery tests were conducted to evaluate the high-temperature rheological properties of the asphalt. The results indicate that activated rubber, doped at 20%, and SBS, doped at 2%, significantly enhance the high-temperature rheological properties of the composite-modified asphalt compared to base asphalt, exhibiting a 417.16% increase in the complex modulus at 64 °C and 1 Hz. Furthermore, these modifiers interact synergistically to improve modification efficiency.