Interactions between RAP and virgin asphalt binders in field, plant, and lab mixes

Eslam Deef-Allah * and Magdy Abdelrahman

Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409, U.S.A.
 
Research Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2022, 13(01), 231–249
Article DOI: 10.30574/wjarr.2022.13.1.0744
 
Publication history: 
Received on 24 November 2021; revised on 04 January 2022; accepted on 06 January 2022
 
Abstract: 
Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) has been used in asphalt mixes for several years in the United States. However, the interactions between the RAP binder and the virgin asphalt binder (VAB) need further investigations. Thus, the main objective of this study was to explore the rheological and chemical properties of extracted asphalt binders (EABs) from plant, field, and lab mixes. The plant mixes were collected from behind the paver, reheated to the compaction temperature, and compacted in the lab. The field mixes were collected as cores within two weeks after the end of the construction process. The lab mixes were fabricated in the lab using the same materials used in the plant and field mixes. The mixes contained high asphalt binder replacement percentages by RAP, which were greater than 30%. The EABs were treated as rolling thin film oven aged VABs (RTFO AVABs). The rheological properties of EABs and RTFO AVABs were analyzed using temperature sweep, frequency sweep, and multiple stress creep recovery tests. Chemical investigations of EABs and RTFO AVABs were carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The EABs from plant or lab mixes showed higher stiffnesses than EABs from field mixes. This occurred because of the extra heating that was implemented for the plant mixes before the compaction in the lab, which caused more interactions between the RAP binder and VABs. The fabrication mechanism, mixing and short-term aging processes, used in lab mixes caused more interactions between RAP binder and VABs than in the field mixes.
 
Keywords: 
RAP; Interaction; Extraction; Recovery; TGA; Rubber; FTIR
 
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