The objective of this study was to determine the effects of finishes applied to polyester fibers on the properties of asphalt binders and mastics. Asphalt binders were mixed with finishes that were extracted from the fibers, and mastics were also made with binder and fibers (with and without finish) to isolate the effects of the finish. The results indicated that crude source plays a significant role in how the fiber finish affects the binders and mastics. Additionally different finishes had different effects on binder properties. The major finding of this study is that different polyester fibers, even from the same manufacturer, may not necessarily perform the same in an asphalt mixture. It is important to use fibers that are compatible with the particular asphalt binder that is being used because of the significance of the binder source on the interaction between the finish and the binder. 1. Introduction The utilization of fibers in asphalt mixtures is not a new concept; in fact, it has been in use since the early 1900s when the Warren Brothers Company of Boston, MA, obtained patents for their use of asbestos fibers in sheet asphalts [1]. The purpose of the fibers was to essentially stabilize the mixture and prevent bleeding of asphalt during hot weather service. The use of asbestos fibers in asphalt construction continued in cold-laid asphalt pavements to prevent segregation of aggregate during construction [1]. Use of fibers in hot mix asphalt (HMA) did not come until the late 1950s when the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Asphalt Institute, and the Johns-Manville Co., an asbestos fiber manufacturer, initiated the first evaluation of asbestos fibers in HMA [1]. Results of this study indicated that mixtures containing asbestos fibers showed an increase in tensile strength, compressive strength, stability, ability to sustain load after reaching maximum stability, and resistance to weathering. Kietzman et al. later determined that the asphalt content of mixtures containing asbestos fibers could be increased 50 percent or more above the optimum asphalt content of control mixtures without sacrificing pavement performance. While mixture stability was maintained with the high binder content fiber mixtures, durability was improved as evident from testing of recovered binder from pavement sections. Both penetration and ductility values of recovered binder were higher in the mixtures containing fibers as compared to the mixtures without fiber [2]. Kietzman’s conclusions were corroborated by Zuehlke in the early 1960s with an evaluation of the Marshall and
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