Preparation and characterization of waterborne epoxy modified bitumen emulsion as a potential high-performance cold binder

This study aims to explore the feasibility of using waterborne epoxy modified bitumen emulsion (WEB) as a high-performance cold binder through chemical analysis and performance characterization. To achieve this objective, waterborne curing agent was first synthesized and characterized by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Zetasizer. Then, FT-IR analysis was conducted to monitor the curing behaviour of epoxy resin in bitumen emulsion. Following the moisture susceptibility tests of bitumen emulsion mixture through the boiling tests, the rheological properties of WEB residues were characterized through the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) tests. Finally, linear amplitude sweep (LAS) analysis was conducted to evaluate the fatigue resistance of the bitumen emulsion residues. The results indicated that the incorporation of waterborne epoxy resin into bitumen emulsion significantly improved its adhesion performance, mechanical strength, and fatigue life, making WEB a potential high-performance cold binder for various application purposes, such as cold recycling and cold-mix asphalt paving.