Epoxidized silane as a crosslinking agent between bitumen and polymer modifier
Most of bitumen-polymer binders are prone to delamination, which imposes restrictions on their storage and transportation. The preparation of unstratifying binders has been associated with the phenomenon of «temporary plasticizing» for a long time. This meant the use of oligomeric plasticizers curable later directly in bitumen melt. The resulting binders usually have a high hardness and a narrow field of application. We performed the modification of bitumen with the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate. 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane was used as the crosslinking agent. IR spectra of the starting components as well as mixtures thereof were taken off to confirm the chemical interaction between the epoxy groups of epoxidized silane and carboxyl groups of bitumen and also between epoxysilane’s metoksisilan groups and acetyl fragments of sevilene. It is proved, that copolymer of ethylene with vinyl acetate can be chemically connected with bitumen through the binding agent - epoxysilane. We studied the separate effects of epoxidized silane and ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer on bitumen.