STYROFOAM AS ADDITIVE TO ASPHALT JOINT FILLER IN PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENT.

The study aimed to utilize waste Styrofoam as an additive to asphalt joint filler in Portland cement concrete pavement. Specifically, the study aimed to determine the mechanical properties of the asphalt joint filler combined with varying proportions of Styrofoam in terms of Penetration, Water Absorption, Drying time, Flexibility and Flash point. It also determined if there was a significant difference between the mechanical properties of the pure asphalt joint filler and the asphalt joint filler that was mixed with varying proportions of Styrofoam. Finally, the study also determined the acceptable proportion of the asphalt ? Styrofoam joint filler mix considering its different properties and its cost vis a vis the pure asphalt joint filler. All the samples passed the penetration, water absorption and drying time tests. The 40 percent asphalt ? 60 percent Styrofoam and the 50 percent asphalt ? 50 percent Styrofoam joint fillers cannot be used as joint filler because while it passed the penetration, drying time and water absorption tests, it failed the critical flexibility and flash point tests. The 70 percent asphalt ? 30 percent Styrofoam, the 80 percent asphalt ? 20 percent Styrofoam, and the 90 percent asphalt and 10 percent Styrofoam joint fillers passed the flexibility, penetration, water absorption and flash point tests. These asphalt ? Styrofoam proportioning can therefore be used as alternative to the pure asphalt joint filler in the Portland cement concrete pavement. The study made use of the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) one way classifications test and the Duncan?s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) to determine if there is a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group in terms of the Penetration, Time of Setting, Flexibility and Flash point test results. For the penetration test, the ANOVA findings showed that there was a significant difference between the different proportions with a P-level of 0.000. However, when this was further tested using Duncan?s Multiple (DMRT), the test showed that 90% Asphalt-10% Polystyrene gave a similar result that met the Penetration grade of a pure asphalt joint filler at 11mm. The absorption tests findings were not subjected to any statistical tests because based on the results, all of the samples of the experimental group maintained their original weights at 50 grams after being soaked to the water for 24 hours. This test result indicated that all of the samples did not absorb water and are good alternatives for the pure asphalt joint filler. In terms of the different samples? drying time, the ANOVA test results showed that there was a significant difference between the groups with a P- Level of 0.000. However, this was further tested using Duncan?s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) and showed that 40 percent Asphalt -60 percent Polystyrene possesses the fastest drying time at 45 minutes, which was good for a joint filler. The ANOVA one way classification test was again used to determine if there was a significant difference between the flash point temperatures test results of the different proportions of the experimental group. The laboratory test results showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups with a p-Level of 0.025. However, this was further tested using Duncan?s Multiple Range (DMRT) and showed that 60 percent asphalt ? 40 percent polystyrene, 70 percent asphalt, 90 percent asphalt ? 10 percent Polystyrene gives a similar result that met the standard Flash Point Temperature of 320 ֯C. It took a laborer 30 minutes to cut a one kilogram of waste polystyrene into pieces. Since the laborer was paid P200/day, the total cost of obtaining a one kilogram of waste Styrofoam was P12.50. Since the cost of one kilogram of pure asphalt is P35.00, the price difference between the pure asphalt and the processed joint filler are P2.25 per kilogram for the 90%-10% proportioning, P4.50 per kilogram for the 80%-20% proportioning and P6.75 per kilogram for the 70%-30% proportioning. By using these proportioning, building contractors will not only be able to save on the cost of joint fillers for the Portland cement concrete pavement, they can also help in reducing the generation of waste discarded Styrofoam. To conclude, the 70 percent asphalt ? 30 percent Styrofoam, the 80 percent asphalt ? 20 percent Styrofoam, and the 90 percent asphalt and 10 percent Styrofoam joint fillers passed the flexibility, penetration, water absorption and flash point tests. These asphalt ? Styrofoam proportioning can therefore be used as alternative to the pure asphalt joint filler in the Portland cement concrete pavement. The building contractors can also save on cost while using the abovementioned proportioning aside from helping in reducing the generation of waste Styrofoam.