Physical properties of reclaimed asphalt pavement

Abstract

Abstract Sustainable construction is becoming an important issue in pavement engineering. The use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) for road reconstruction gives both technical and environmental benefits. Unfortunately, the properties of cold asphalt mixture using RAP is still behind of hot asphalt mixture using fresh aggregate. The objective of research is to explore the physical properties of RAP in order to understand the factors affecting the lack of cold asphalt mixture performance. The laboratory physical tests on RAP and fresh aggregate were performed to investigate particle shape, specific gravity, gradation, and bulk density. It is found that the presence of aged bitumen in the RAP affects the shape formation, specific gravity, absorption, and gradation of RAP. All those factors cause the bulk density of compacted RAP decrease. This finding opens the knowledge of why cold asphalt mixture using RAP is worse than using fresh aggregate.