Preparation and characterization of waterborne unsaturated polyester resin interface binder for pothole repair

Potholes, as one of the main diseases of asphalt pavement, seriously affect the driving comfort and pavement durability. To compensate for the disadvantages of low bonding strength and poor high-temperature stability of traditional emulsified asphalt pothole binders, as well as the high price of waterborne epoxy resin (WER) despite its excellent mechanical properties, a waterborne unsaturated polyester resin (WUPR) pothole binder was put forward. First, through the storage stability test, centrifugal test, pull-out test, phase volume ratio test, and laser particle size test, the formulation of the WUPR binder was initially determined. In addition, the construction time, flexural properties, tensile properties, low-temperature performance, aging resistance, and bonding performance of the WUPR binder were investigated and compared with those of WER, and then the final formulation was determined accordingly. Results showed that BPO obtained a better curing effect than MEKP, so the best formula was determined as WUPR emulsion: BPO: DMA = 100:2:1, where BPO was benzoyl peroxide, MEKP was methyl ethyl ketone peroxide, and DMA was N-N dimethylaniline. The WUPR binder and WER binder had similar mechanical properties, including flexural properties, tensile properties, aging resistance, and bonding performance, while WUPR/BPO had higher low-temperature performance and cost only 33.3% of what WER did.