Abstract
The increasing demand for sustainable pavement materials has prompted growing interest in waste-derived fiber modifiers that enhance Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) performance while diverting industrial and agricultural waste from landfills and open burning. This thesis evaluated the feasibility of incorporating two waste-derived fiber types, disposable face-mask fibers (FM) and raw Sugarcane Bagasse Fiber (SBF), into HMA using a Superpave design framework with performance-graded binders, without chemical treatment, melting, or separate fiber preheating.
Three plant-produced loose HMA mixtures representative of hot-climate Texas field conditions were collected and subsequently modified with fibers in the laboratory. The mixtures comprised two 12.5 mm NMAS Superpave mixtures (PG 70-22 and PG 64-22) and one 19 mm NMAS dense-graded base mixture (PG 64-22). Performance characterization included IDEAL-CT, HWTT, dynamic modulus, and cyclic fatigue for both fibers, with beam fatigue used for the SBF-focused evaluation. The performance results are supplemented by pairwise statistical analysis and long-term pavement simulation using 3D-Move and FlexPAVE over a 20-year design life. 3D-Move was used for rutting and cracking response prediction; FlexPAVE was used for S-VECD-based cracking prediction only. The results showed that both fiber types improved rutting resistance while generally reducing cracking tolerance.
FM modification reduced rut depth by up to 45%, with 0.5% identified as the most balanced dosage. SBF achieved rut depth reductions of 27 to 73% depending on mixture type, with 0.3% identified as a balanced dosage within the tested range, delivering a statistically significant rutting improvement within the tested scenario set. Long-term simulation indicated sustained rutting reductions of up to 76% in SBF-modified Superpave mixtures within the tested scenario set under low-to-mid traffic conditions. Furthermore, FM simulation revealed a mechanistic trade-off, where higher dosages reduced top-down cracking while simultaneously increasing fatigue cracking, with no FM dosage statistically distinguishable from the control HMA in cracking performance.
This study contributes one of the first comprehensive evaluations of both fiber types in plant-produced Superpave mixtures through mechanistic performance testing and long-term pavement simulation. Untreated waste fibers can serve as rutting-oriented HMA modifiers for hot-climate, rutting-governed mixtures provided cracking and fatigue tolerance are verified through balanced mix design, while diverting waste from landfilling and open burning.
Date of publication
Summer 7-13-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Language
english
Persistent identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/5126
Committee members
Dr. Mayzan Isied, Dr. Mena Souliman, Dr. Minhyeok Ko
Degree
MS in Civil Engineering
Recommended Citation
Ahmed, Tanvir, "Performance Evaluation and Mechanistic Analysis of Hot Mix Asphalt Modified with Industrial and Agricultural Waste Fibers" (2026). Civil Engineering Theses. Paper 27.
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/5126