Evaluating Recycling Efficiency of Plant-Asphalt Mixtures Containing RAP/RAS
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 32, Issue 11
Abstract
With the continuing increase in the use of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled asphalt shingle (RAS) for highway construction, there is a concern over how much of the aged asphalt binder inside RAP/RAS can be blended into virgin asphalt binder. In this study, the RAP/RAS binder mobilization rates of 13 different mixtures produced by three different types of asphalt plants in Tennessee were determined using fluorescence microscopy and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). A multiple regression model was developed to explore the factors critical to enhancing the mobilization rate of the RAP/RAS binder. Results showed that the RAP/RAS binder mobilization rate was significantly lower than 100% for most mixtures, indicating that only part of the RAP/RAS binder was mobilized during the production process. The mixing and delivery temperatures had significant influence on the mobilization rate of RAP/RAS binder. In addition, the aging degree of RAP/RAS binder also significantly affected the mobilization rate.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.
Acknowledgments
The research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51578415, 51708072), Chinese Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2019M653344), Chongqing Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. cstc2019jcyj-bshX0121), and the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration of United States. The views in the paper only reflect those of the authors and are not necessarily the views of the sponsors.
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©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 13, 2019
Accepted: Mar 24, 2020
Published online: Aug 18, 2020
Published in print: Nov 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jan 18, 2021
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