Abstract
Water infiltration into asphalt mixtures is one the serious distresses which lowers the performance of the top layer of road pavements. This problem is even worse in tropical countries which experience high temperature and heavy rainfalls. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effects of water infiltration on a 60/70 penetration grade bitumen vis-a-vis bitumen modified with 2 and 4% nano-clay. The Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) test was done to identify any chemical changes that might occur in the nano-clay and the bitumen. The loose and compacted mixtures of the nano-clay modified bitumen were tested to determine their resistance to water damage. The loose mixture was tested by conducting the boiling water, the Vialit adhesion, and surface free energy (SFE) tests, while the compacted mixture was tested using the indirect tensile strength (ITS) test. Aging simulation was done for samples tested using …