Field Performance Evaluation of Recycled Plastic Waste in Asphalt Mix
Publication: International Conference on Road and Airfield Pavement Technology 2023
ABSTRACT
As part of the nation’s goal to push towards circular economy, a field study was conducted to evaluate the use of recycled plastic waste in asphalt (RPWA) for road construction. A previous laboratory study has shown that recycled low density polyethylene (LDPE) showed a good potential to be used in asphalt with high rutting resistance and stiffness which are ideal properties for the hot climate in Singapore. To verify the performance of RPWA, a field study was conducted to monitor and evaluate its engineering properties under actual traffic and weather conditions. Two test sections of RPWA and conventional asphalt (control) were constructed at a specified location which is subjected to heavy traffic. The monitoring was conducted on the test sections to evaluate the road performance with respect to rut depth, road roughness, and skid resistance before and after the construction. The results showed there were no significant differences between the control and RPWA sections over a period of 9 months and the test parameters also meets the regulatory requirements.
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Published online: Feb 6, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Construction engineering
- Construction industry
- Construction management
- Construction wastes
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Environmental engineering
- Field tests
- Highway and road management
- Highway transportation
- Highways and roads
- Infrastructure
- Infrastructure construction
- Laboratory tests
- Materials engineering
- Plastics
- Pollutants
- Polyethylene
- Recycling
- Solid wastes
- Synthetic materials
- Tests (by type)
- Transportation engineering
- Wastes
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