Development of a Test Method to Measure RAP Percentage in Asphalt Mixes in the Field Using a Handheld FT-IR Spectrometer
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 32, Issue 12
Abstract
In this study, a handheld Fourier transform-infrared spectrometer (FT-IRS) is used as the primary equipment to determine the reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) content in a mix by quantifying the extent of aging of a fresh mix. Binders of different performance grades and sources were used for laboratory aging and were analyzed to comprehend and compare different aging processes in terms of a carbonyl index (). The results show that the of the RAP from 10 different sources varies from 0.0275 to 0.0607. Standard PAV aging produces of only 0.0239, which indicates the significantly higher oxidation reaction in a service life than the laboratory aging. Attenuated total reflectance (ATR)-FTIRS data collection requires a small amount of the binder, which can be extracted in the field in 15 min by following the quick extraction method developed in this study. A spectral analysis of an unaged binder and RAP can predict the in the fresh mix. The predicted and the measure values were found to be in good agreement in two different plant mixes. So, the handheld FT-IRS has the potential to be used as a quality control tool in the field by precisely and quickly detecting the presence of aged RAP in the mix.
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Data Availability Statement
A list of available data, models, or code that support the findings of this study is provided as follows, which are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request: (1) the FT-IR spectra of all the binders used in this study in a Microsoft Excel file, (2) the details of the carbonyl and sulfoxide index calculation in a Microsoft Excel file, and (3) the DSR test data for the extracted RAP and PAV aged binders.
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the Louisiana Transportation Research Center (LTRC) under the project “Field Implementation of Handheld FTIR Spectrometer for Polymer Content Determination and for Quality Control of RAP Mixtures.”
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 32 • Issue 12 • December 2020
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 23, 2019
Accepted: May 21, 2020
Published online: Sep 16, 2020
Published in print: Dec 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Feb 16, 2021
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