Research on the Use of Tanned Leather Fibres as Aggregate in Obtaining Asphalt Mixtures

The current tendency of road builders and managers is to make asphalt mixtures with improved performance in terms of aging and fatigue resistance, better traffic behavior both in summer and in winter, as well as increased values for dynamic properties: elasticity, tracking, etc. In this sense, there is a permanent concern to find new materials and technologies for the preparation and implementation of asphalt mixtures that convey the desired properties to the layers. In this sense, the addition of microfibres and fibres, with dimensions ranging from 0.01-10 mm when preparing asphalt mixtures, transforms the bituminous binder used into a “composite material”, in which the matrix is the bitumen, and fibres are the dispersed phase, leading to the stabilization of the bitumen inside the mix, as well as to the reinforcement of the asphalt mixtures, giving them special properties. The paper presents laboratory experiments for obtaining smart biocomposites (leather fibres-asphalt mixtures) with applications in the field of road infrastructure. The resulting biocomposites were characterized by chemical, physical-mechanical and structural analyses.