Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement and Recycled Concrete Aggregate Blends in Pavement Subbases: Laboratory and Field Evaluation
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 2
Abstract
In recent years, efforts have been made to incorporate reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) into pavement base or subbase applications by means of cement binder stabilization. This approach, however, may not be an environmentally friendly solution due to the high carbon footprint involved in the production of Portland cement. Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), on the other hand, has been widely accepted in pavement applications. The sustainable solution of blending RAP with RCA was investigated in this research in an attempt to facilitate the usage of this blend as an alternative pavement subbase material. An extensive suite of geotechnical laboratory tests was undertaken on RAP with contents of 100, 50, 30 and 15% in blends with RCA. Results of the research study indicated that RAP/RCA blends with a low 15% RAP content meet the repeated load triaxial requirements for use in pavement subbase layers. Results of field performance of a pavement subbase constructed with untreated 100% RAP, at a private haul road field-demonstration site, confirmed that it had insufficient strength requirements to meet local road-authority pavement-subbase requirements. RAP and RAP/RCA blends, although found in this study to be not fully compliant with the local road-authorities requirements, could be potentially considered for lower traffic usage, such as haul roads and footpaths.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Sustainability Victoria, Alex Fraser Group Pty Ltd., Packaging Stewardship Forum of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, and the National Packaging Covenant for funding this research project. The authors wish to thank VicRoads for their support and technical advice throughout this research project and ARRB Group Ltd. for undertaking the field tests and repeated load triaxial tests. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not represent those of other parties.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26 • Issue 2 • February 2014
Pages: 349 - 357
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 9, 2013
Accepted: May 8, 2013
Published online: May 11, 2013
Discussion open until: Oct 11, 2013
Published in print: Feb 1, 2014
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