Recycling of waste originating form flexible pavements for bound-base courses of flexible pavements

Abstract

Reclaimed Asphalt pavement (RAP) is a C&D waste originating from the reclamation of asphalt pavement which has completed its service life. Using RAP would potentially reduce reliance on primary aggregates and lowers the environmental impact of construction. The present study is an attempt made to utilize RAP judiciously as a bound base course of the flexible pavement. Natural coarse aggregates were replaced by RAP in proportions of 50% & 100% with & without Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA), for production of bound-base course mixes. To ensure the long run performance, the aging condition was simulated in the laboratory and mechanical properties such as Marshall Stability, Tensile Strengths, Marshall Stability Retained, Indirect Tensile Ratio, rutting resistance, Fatigue life, and abrasion resistance were considered. With the incorporation of 50-100% coarse RAP, the Marshall Stability, rutting resistance and abrasion were found to be improved by 30-32%, 43-104% and 11-17% respectively. Similarly, total cost saving is about 15-35%, which is quite significant. However, the addition of WMA enhanced the cost by 3-4%, which is insignificant when combined with RAP, furthermore, the reductions in fume emission enhance the sustainability aspect of the technology. © 2020 Widener University School of Civil Engineering. All rights reserved.