Performance and rheological characteristics of hot mix asphalt modified with melamine nanopowder polymer

Abstract The increasing price of asphalt modifiers and the compulsory need for them make it necessary to find an alternative to improve the rheological properties of asphalt binders using economical polymeric materials. The aim of this study is to improve the rheological properties of asphalt binders and mixtures using nanopowder for polymer formaldehyde melamine (“NPFM”). The binder asphalt result showed that adding 4% NPFM to reference asphalt enhances the performance grade (PG) from PG (64-16) to PG (82-10). Additionally, the difference between the softening points of the upper and lower parts showed superior storage stability of less than 2.2%. As for Marshall properties, the results of the asphalt mixture modified with “NPFM” showed higher resilience, with a stability ratio increment of (17%) compared to the original mix. As for the tensile strength ratio (TSR), TSR% effects showed a high resistance level (85.44%), higher than that of the styrene-butane-styrene mixture. Adding “NPFM” to the reference asphalt gave a high resistance against permanent deformations. Rutting resistance increased by 67.6% at a temperature of 45°C, 80.6% at 55°C, and 60.5% at 70°C compared to other asphalt mixtures.