Increasing Asphalt Recycling to Reduce Paving Costs, Improve Pavement Longevity, and Reduce Environmental Impact

Details

• Creators:
  Sukhija, Mayank ; Coleri, Erdem
• Corporate Creators:
  Oregon State University. School of Civil and Construction Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  Oregon. Department of Transportation. Research Section ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Asphalt Pavements Cracking Environmental Impacts Life Cycle Analysis Life Cycle Costing Performance Evaluations Recycled Materials Rejuvenators Rutting Sustainable Development Warm Mix Paving Mixtures

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-OR-RD-27-04
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Oregon
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  Oregon. Department of Transportation. Research Section
• Abstract:
  Recycling highway construction materials and minimizing the use of virgin materials can reduce pavement life cycle costs, improve highway network conditions, conserve natural resources, and protect the environment. Although using recycled asphalt pavements (RAP) is beneficial in many aspects, aged binder in RAP gives rise to failure under repeated high axle loads and thermal effects. Thus, in Oregon, the use of RAP is currently limited to about 30% by weight of the mix. For asphalt mixtures with a higher percentage of RAP, various strategic measures have been developed, including increased binder content, binder grade bumping, rejuvenators, and warm-mix asphalt (WMA) additives. However, selecting the most effective rejuvenators and WMA technology for Oregon, developing methods and guidelines for choosing the proper amount of additives, and ensuring appropriate mixing to achieve high RAP mixes without compromising the performance of the asphalt pavements is crucial. In addition, practices for better managing the RAP stockpiles at the asphalt plants (including process controls) play an important role in the mix performance and need careful investigation. This research study addressed the above-mentioned concerns through comprehensive experimental and analytical work, including the evaluation of performance, cost, and environmental benefits of using high RAP, incorporating the strategic techniques. The effect of RAP source variability, as well as in-plant variability, has also been studied. Further, the results were confirmed through statistical analysis. Results of the analysis indicate that the performance of RAP mixtures depends on binder content, RAP content, and binder grade. Considering all aspects, the appropriate selection of a strategic technique could enable a 10% higher RAP than the current allowable limit in Oregon, ensuring adequate performance while lowering economic and environmental burdens.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  SPR 862
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f0f3521b8ca6d4fba63128eb688288c2a4d431648d53adccfa782d2e8cbb3d8dda28a38c57900403cc8b1ccc3087fbf3f5119925a7890fae6ccebef2babf4680
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/92761/dot_92761_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 32.98 MB ]