To evaluate the durability of bamboo fiber asphalt mixture using four gradation schemes, the durability of the bamboo fiber asphalt mixture is studied considering three aspects: ageing durability, freeze-thaw cycle durability and fatigue durability through the Marshall test, indoor ageing test, uniaxial compression test, low-temperature bending test, immersion Marshall test, freeze-thaw splitting test and four-point bending fatigue test. Nonfiber asphalt mixture and lignin fiber asphalt mixture were used as control groups. The results show that the addition of plant fiber can effectively improve the durability of asphalt mixture. Bamboo fiber modified asphalt mastic has good ductility and adhesion due to its rough surface and good oil absorption performance. Bamboo fiber asphalt mixture has better and more stable low-temperature ageing durability and moisture ageing durability than lignin fiber asphalt mixture, but its mechanical property is weaker than the latter. The improvement effect of the two fibers on the freeze-thaw cycle durability of asphalt mixture is basically the same. Bamboo fiber can improve the flexibility of the mixture and delay the development of cracks so that the mixture has good fatigue durability. The smaller the void ratio, the thicker the asphalt film, and the denser the structure of the mixture, the better the durability. The durability of the stone mastic asphalt (SMA) gradation mixture is better than that of asphalt concrete (AC) gradation. The material composition and aggregate gradation of plant fiber asphalt mixture have a great influence on its durability. In the future, it is necessary to establish a multiparameter comprehensive evaluation index system among fiber type and properties, mixture gradation and durability so as to realize the directional regulation of the durability of different fiber asphalt mixtures. Bamboo fiber is a reliable substitute for lignin fiber, and further research on improving its surface properties and dispersion uniformity can be carried out in the future.

To investigate the effect of biochar on the adhesion performance of asphalt, the macroscopic and microscopic adhesion performance of 70# base asphalt, SBS-modified asphalt (SBSMA), sludge-based biochar-modified asphalt, and waste wood-based biochar-modified asphalt (WWBMA) were tested using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle tests, respectively. The impact of these two testing methods on the evaluation of adhesion performance was also analyzed. Research results indicated that biochar increased the number of bee-like structures on the asphalt surface while significantly reducing their average area. This improves the distribution of asphalt adhesion by reducing the adhesion difference between bee-like structured areas and non-bee-like structured areas while simultaneously enhancing the overall adhesion of the asphalt surface. Surface free energy (SFE) theory analysis indicates a linear correlation between the SFE obtained from the contact angle test and the atomic force microscopy test. Biochar significantly increases the SFE of asphalt and its components, thereby increasing the work of adhesion between asphalt and aggregate and reducing the work of debonding. Consequently, it improves the bonding performance between asphalt and aggregate, as well as its resistance to moisture damage.

In order to explore the applicability of the rejuvenated asphalt with wood tar as the main raw material, the orthogonal test was used to determine the optimal ratio of wood tar-based rejuvenator. The physical properties, rheological properties and components of matrix asphalt, aged asphalt, wood tar-based rejuvenated asphalt and commercial RA-102# rejuvenated asphalt were tested and compared. The results show that the optimal ratio of wood tar-based rejuvenator is 15wt% wood tar, 0.3wt% biomass fiber, 5wt% plasticizer, 0.3wt% compatibilizer, and 1wt% stabilizer of the mass of aged asphalt. Wood tar-based rejuvenator can restore the physical properties of the aged asphalt to meet the specification requirements. The synergistic effect of biomass fiber and plasticizer make the wood tar-based rejuvenated asphalt has good resistance to accumulated permanent deformation, but its low-temperature cracking resistance needs to be further improved. During the rejuvenation process of aged asphalt, the colloidal state changes from gel-state to sol-state, characterizing that the viscosity of asphalt decreased and the fluidity increased. Wood tar-based rejuvenator can react with aged asphalt to weaken the vibration strength of carbonyl and sulfoxide groups, so as to realize the recovery of service performance. Wood tar-based rejuvenator has better environmental protection and applicability, which is worthy of further study and promotion.

Acid erosion can accelerate the process of early damage of asphalt pavement and decrease the durability of asphalt pavement. However, there are limited research results for asphalt mixtures that can resist acid rain erosion. To systematically evaluate the impact and action law of acid rain erosion on the durability of asphalt mixtures, three gradation schemes were used: periodic dry–wet cycle immersion test, contact angle test and road performance test. The acid rain erosion resistance of epoxy asphalt mixture, SBS-modified asphalt mixture and 70# matrix asphalt mixture were tested from three aspects of anti-aging performance, freeze–thaw cycle performance and fatigue performance. The results show that the erosion of acid rain can significantly decrease the adhesion between asphalt and aggregate, and affects the road performance of the asphalt mixture. Acid rain erosion can significantly decrease the mechanical properties, adhesion and durability of asphalt mixtures. Epoxy asphalt has better physical properties, adhesion and acid rain erosion resistance than 70# matrix asphalt and SBS-modified asphalt. Epoxy asphalt has excellent adhesion due to its polar group, high cohesion and thermosetting resin with low shrinkage, which can effectively resist moisture erosion, spalling and temperature stress cracking, thereby effectively resisting the erosion of acid rain. Epoxy asphalt mixture has the strongest acid rain erosion resistance, which can be further enhanced when used together with waste rubber powder and modified bamboo fiber. On the whole, asphalt mixture with high-density structure and thicker asphalt film can effectively resist acid rain erosion. The durability of asphalt concrete (AC)-type gradation mixture and stone mastic asphalt (SMA)-type gradation mixture are equivalent, and both are superior to open-graded friction courses (OGFC)-type gradation mixture. The gradation of asphalt mixtures and the type of asphalt binder have great influence on their acid rain erosion resistance and durability. In order to realize the directional control of the acid rain erosion resistance and durability of different asphalt mixtures, a multi-parameter comprehensive assessment indicator system between the type and property of asphalt, the gradation of asphalt mixture, and the acid rain resistance and durability of the mixture need to be established in the future.

Low-temperature crack resistance is the core issue affecting the promotion of rejuvenated asphalt, but most current studies do not consider the creep relaxation characteristics of rejuvenated asphalt mixture at low temperatures, which is inconsistent with the actual situation. To explore the low-temperature crack resistance of a wood tar-based rejuvenated asphalt mixture, we observed the low-temperature crack resistance of styrene butadiene styrene (SBS) modified asphalt, wood tar-based rejuvenated asphalt, and RA-102 rejuvenated asphalt and their mixtures using laboratory tests. Our results showed that the low temperature crack resistance of the wood tar-based rejuvenated asphalt mixture was better than that of the RA-102 rejuvenated asphalt mixture, but slightly worse than that of the original SBS asphalt mixture. After the synergistic action of wood tar and biomass fiber, wood tar can be fully mixed into the new asphalt, effectively alleviating the bonding failure between asphalt and aggregate and improving the stiffness of the mixture, so that the toughness and crack resistance of rejuvenated asphalt mixture at low temperatures are evidently improved. Wood tar-based rejuvenated asphalt mixture has a good creep deformation ability at low temperatures. The established creep damage model can better describe the flexural creep performance of rejuvenated asphalt mixtures at low temperatures, and can be used to infer the deformation characteristics at other low temperatures.

This study utilized molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the adhesion process between wood tar-rejuvenated asphalt and acid/alkaline aggregate. Initially, various indicators including the contact area, cohesion coefficient, and interaction energy were employed to assess the adhesion effect under dry conditions. This revealed the action mechanism of the wood tar-rejuvenator in enhancing the adhesion performance between aged asphalt and aggregate. Subsequently, an asphalt–water–aggregate interface model was developed to simulate the water damage process of the asphalt mixture. This aimed to unveil the damage mechanism of water intrusion on the adhesion performance of the asphalt–aggregate interface and evaluate the water damage resistance of wood tar-rejuvenated asphalt through adhesion energy, stripping work, and the energy ratio. The findings indicate that wood tar-rejuvenated asphalt exhibits favorable adhesion properties with both acid and alkaline aggregates. The addition of wood tar-rejuvenated asphalt increased the interaction energy between aged asphalt and acid and alkali aggregates by 67.75 kJ/mol and 97.3 kJ/mol, respectively. The addition of a wood tar rejuvenator enhances the interaction energy between aged asphalt and aggregate, thereby increasing mutual attraction and enlarging the contact area. The adhesion between asphalt and aggregates hinges on the interaction between asphaltene and aggregates, and the wood tar rejuvenator reduces the diffusion ability of asphaltene in the attractive state of the aggregate, resulting in stable aggregation. Moisture intrusion increased the aggregation distance between asphaltene and aggregate by 14.1% and decreased the degree of aggregation by 24.0%, thereby reducing the interaction energy. The extent of damage caused by water intrusion is linked to the aggregation distance, with greater distances leading to deeper damage. Under wet conditions, the interaction energy of wood tar-rejuvenated asphalt increased by 78.2% in the acidic aggregate system and 98.1% in the basic aggregate system compared with aged asphalt. Meanwhile, wood tar-based rejuvenated asphalt improves the adhesion between aged asphalt and aggregate and reduces the stripping function of asphalt affected by water replacement, which results in the ER value of wood tar-rejuvenated asphalt being higher than that of the original asphalt by 0.12 and 0.22 in the acidic and alkaline environments, respectively, thus showing excellent resistance to water damage. This study provides new criteria for the selection of rejuvenators for waste asphalt, which will help in the future selection of superior rejuvenators for aged asphalt and reduce the possibility of choosing the wrong rejuvenator.