100% Recycling of Low-Temp Asphalt for Minor Roads – Lab Compaction and Traffic Simulation

Abstract

Triggered by early experience in Sweden, the international project “Optimal recycling of reclaimed asphalt pavement” (ORRAP) for minor roads in the Upper Rhine region aims at developing a new strategy for 100% reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) at ambient temperature without adding bituminous binders. The still ongoing research involves laboratory experiments as well as in situ test sections. The link between small scale laboratory experiments and in situ testing is provided by medium scaled traffic simulation in the laboratory. The paper describes first results on compaction evaluation in the laboratory using different methods as well as traffic simulation with a medium scaled mobile traffic load simulator. The results show that compaction in laboratory at ambient temperature is very difficult to achieve and that the technology from Sweden as such is not practicable for the Upper Rhine Region, because of the required long curing times. However, it was found that compaction at low temperatures (60 °C) appears possible and provides promising results regarding stability and rutting.