Synergistic Effect of PET Modifier and Wetfix-Be Anti-Stripping Agent on the Time-Dependent Durability of AC-BC Mixtures under Prolonged Saline Immersion
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70716/reswara.v4i4.869Keywords:
polyethylene terephthalate (PET), wetfix-be, saline immersion, retained stability index, cantabro lossAbstract
Pavement degradation in coastal regions due to high salinity, moisture, and elevated temperatures presents a significant challenge in transportation infrastructure engineering. This study investigates the effects of hybrid modification using waste Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and an amine-based anti-stripping agent (Wetfix-Be) on the mechanical performance and durability of Asphalt Concrete–Binder Course (AC-BC) mixtures under prolonged saline immersion. Asphalt mixtures were modified with PET contents of 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8% by bitumen weight, combined with 0.3% Wetfix-Be at an Optimum Asphalt Content (OAC) of 5.3%. Conditioning was conducted in a saline solution (35 ppt NaCl) at 60°C for 0, 24, 48, 96, and 144 hours. Evaluations included volumetric properties, Marshall Stability, Retained Stability Index (RSI), and Cantabro Loss, analyzed using Two-Way ANOVA (α = 0.05) and Tukey’s HSD test. Results revealed a non-linear relationship between PET content and mixture performance. The P4W3 formulation (4% PET and 0.3% Wetfix-Be) achieved the highest initial performance, with Marshall Stability of 1380 ± 32 kg and Marshall Quotient of 383.3 ± 13.8 kg/mm. After 144 hours of saline immersion, the control mixture lost 57% of its stability (RSI = 42.8%), whereas P4W3 exhibited only 19% stability loss, maintained an RSI of 80.8 ± 1.4%, and limited Cantabro Loss to 11.2 ± 0.5%. The interaction between mixture composition and immersion duration significantly affected all response variables (p < 0.001). These findings demonstrate that PET and Wetfix-Be synergistically improve adhesion and durability under saline exposure.
References
Al-Ammari, M., Dong, R., Deng, G., & Abdullah, S. (2026). Sustainable innovations in Stone Matrix Asphalt: Integrating recycled materials and low-emission production. Materials, 19(5), 937. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19050937
Behnood, A., & Modiri Gharehveran, M. (2019). Morphology, rheology, and physical properties of polymer-modified asphalt binders. European Polymer Journal, 112, 766–791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2018.10.049
Buruiana, D. L., Georgescu, P. L., Carp, G. B., & Ghisman, V. (2023). Recycling micro polypropylene in modified hot asphalt mixture. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 3639. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-30857-9
Chen, J., Dan, H., Ding, Y., Gao, Y., Guo, M., Guo, S., Han, B., Hong, B., Hou, Y., Hu, C., Hu, J., Huyan, J., Jiang, J., Jiang, W., Li, C., Liu, P., Liu, Y., Liu, Z., Lu, G., … Zhu, X. (2021). New innovations in pavement materials and engineering: A review on pavement engineering research 2021. Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition), 8(6), 815–999. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2021.10.001
Chen, X., Ren, D., Tian, G., Xu, J., Ali, R., & Ai, C. (2023). Investigation on moisture damage resistance of asphalt pavement in salt and acid erosion environments based on multi-scale analysis. Construction and Building Materials, 366, 130177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.130177
Chowdhury, A., Nourian, P., Wasiuddin, N., & Peters, A. (2024). Investigation of polymer–asphalt compatibility using molecular dynamics simulation. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 128(19), 4821–4829. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c00672
Emtiaz, M., Imtiyaz, M. N., Majumder, M., Idris, I. I., Mazumder, R., & Rahaman, M. M. (2023). A comprehensive literature review on polymer-modified asphalt binder. CivilEng, 4(3), 901–932. https://doi.org/10.3390/civileng4030049
Feng, B., Wang, H., Li, S., Ji, K., Li, L., & Xiong, R. (2022). The durability of asphalt mixture with the action of salt erosion: A review. Construction and Building Materials, 315, 125749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.125749[cite: 1, 14]
Feng, D., Yi, J., Wang, D., & Chen, L. (2025). Coupled deterioration mechanism of asphalt mixtures subjected to dynamic pore water pressure and chloride salt weathering. Transportation Geotechnics, 51, 101452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2024.101452
Hamedi, G. H., Rahmani, H., Hosseini, H., Sakanlou, F., Sohrabi, M., & Hofko, B. (2025). The effects of moisture and aging conditions on the cohesive and adhesive debonding of asphalt mixture using thermodynamical and mechanical methods. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 38768. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-22724-6[cite: 1, 14]
Liu, T., Jiang, J., Lu, G., Ding, J., & Ni, F. (2026). Adsorption-state test guided enhancement of asphalt emulsion–aggregate interface: From microscopic defects to macroscopic strengthening. Construction and Building Materials, 506, 144909. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.144909[cite: 1, 14]
Maliar, V., Oksak, S., Ilin, I., & Kornilova, Z. (2026). The influence of surface-active substances on the wetting ability of bituminous binders as a factor in the energy efficiency of asphalt concrete technologies. AIP Conference Proceedings, 3520(1), 110003. https://doi.org/10.1063/12.0044856[cite: 1, 14]
Meng, Y., Ouyang, J., & Ou, J. (2023). Investigation on the wetting behavior of asphalt emulsion on aggregate for asphalt emulsion mixture. Construction and Building Materials, 400, 132844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.132844[cite: 1, 14]
Nawir, D., & Mansur, A. Z. (2022). Effects of HDPE utilization and addition of Wetfix-Be to asphalt pavement in tropical climates. Civil Engineering Journal, 8(8), 1665–1678. https://doi.org/10.28991/cej-2022-08-08-010
Qiu, X., Deng, J., Fu, Q., Lou, Y., Ye, Y., & Zhang, D. (2025). Investigation of chloride salt erosion on asphalt binders and mixtures: Performance evaluation and correlation analysis. Materials, 18(1), 156. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18010156
Salakhov, R. K., Kenzhegaliyeva, A. P., Abdikarimov, M. S., Mansurov, B. A., Elshibaev, A. O., Nugmanova, A. U., Ashimova, S. Z., Teltaev, B. B., & Khamidi, A. R. (2022). Influence of adhesion additives on the grip of bitumen to stone material and water resistance of asphalt concrete. Eurasian Chemico-Technological Journal, 24(4), 323–330. https://doi.org/10.18321/ectj1476
Tang, N., Sun, C. J., Huang, S. X., & Wu, S. P. (2013). Damage and corrosion of conductive asphalt concrete subjected to freeze–thaw cycles and salt. Materials Research Innovations, 17 (Suppl. 1), s219–s224. https://doi.org/10.1179/1432891713Z.000000000223
Xu, J., Ma, B., Mao, W., Si, W., & Wang, X. (2023). Review of interfacial adhesion between asphalt and aggregate based on molecular dynamics. Construction and Building Materials, 362, 129642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.129642
Yu, R., Wang, Q., Wang, W., Xiao, Y., Wang, Z., Zhou, X., Zhang, X., Zhu, X., & Fang, C. (2021). Polyurethane/graphene oxide nanocomposite and its modified asphalt binder: Preparation, properties and molecular dynamics simulation. Materials & Design, 209, 109994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2021.109994
Zolotarev, V. A., Ageeva, A. O., Pyrig, Y. I., & Yanushevsky, V. S. (2022). Influence of Wetfix BE adhesive additive on the properties of bitumen and asphalt concrete. Avtoshliakhovyk Ukrainy, 1, 29–31.
Zou, Y., Gao, Y., Chen, A., Wu, S., Li, Y., Xu, H., Wang, H., Yang, Y., & Amirkhanian, S. (2024). Adhesion failure mechanism of asphalt-aggregate interface under an extreme saline environment: A molecular dynamics study. Applied Surface Science, 645, 158851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2023.158851
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Achmad Zultan Mansur, Daud Nawir (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
