Application of Waterborne Epoxy Resin Modified Bitumen Emulsion as a Tack Coat Material

Interface bonding between different asphalt pavement layers is crucial in maintaining the integrity of the pavement structure. To improve the interface bonding, bitumen emulsion is commonly used as the tack coat material. However, the bonding performance of conventional bitumen emulsion is limited. This study investigated the possibility of using waterborne epoxy resin modified bitumen emulsion as a novel tack coat material. The resistance to moisture damage of waterborne epoxy resin modified bitumen emulsion was evaluated using the boiling water test, followed by the characterization of the interface adhesion between waterborne epoxy resin modified bitumen emulsion and aggregate using the binder bond strength test. To further determine the interface bonding between different asphalt layers bonded by waterborne epoxy resin modified bitumen emulsion, a two-layer asphalt mixture structure was fabricated, and the shear strength was measured. The results indicated that the incorporation of waterborne epoxy resin can increase the interface bonding between the two asphalt mixture layers.