LABORATORY INVESTIGATION ON HOT MIX ASPHALT USING RECLAIMED ASPHALT PAVEMENT (RAP) FOR BITUMINOUS CONCRETE MIX

Spurti O. Tambake, Dheeraj. N. Kumar, Manjunath. K. R

Abstract: Recycled Asphalt Pavements (RAP) obtained from damaged or abandoned pavement used in hot mix asphalt mixtures has evolved into a regular practice in many countries around the world. Use of these materials in the past has not only proved to be economical but also environmentally sound. Incorporating RAP in fresh materials has been favoured over fresh materials in the light of the increasing cost of asphalt, scarcity of quality aggregate, scarcity of asphalt and pressuring need to preserve the environment. The use of reclaimed asphalt pavement is effective in improving the performance which is equally or better than the fresh mixtures. Unfortunately, asphalt pavement recycling is yet to takeoff in India despite the current ambitious road building program underway. The purpose of this study is to examine the performance between Fresh and various RAP mixtures i.e. 20%, 30% and 40% of Bituminous Concrete (BC) obtained from standardized laboratory tests. Firstly, the quantity of RAP and new aggregates are to be blended in such a way that the resultant gradation of aggregates conforms to the BC as per MoRT&H and the total quantity of asphalt binder are adjusted to satisfy the desired or optimal quantity of the target mix using the soft grade bitumen without using any rejuvenator. Then RAP to new aggregate ratio has been adopted and bituminous mixtures with recycled materials are assessed for their sustainability under mechanical behaviour and compared with the fresh mix. The laboratory study concludes that the all the Marshall Property values are within limit; the Optimum Binder Content was reduced by increasing the percentage of RAP content and the recommended percentage of RAP Mix is 20%

Keywords: Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement, Bituminous concrete, Gradation, Stability, Optimum Bitumen Content

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15623/ijret.2014.0306045