Improving the tensile strength and durability of asphalt concrete as sustainable surface layer

Abstract

The construction and maintenance processes of asphalt pavements require many raw materials, high financial cost, and high energy. The sustainability strategy in pavement construction is the use of recycled and waste materials due to significant savings in material, cost, and energy as well as improving the environment through solid waste disposal. The aim of this research is to study the effect of reusing the reclaimed asphalt pavement and crumb-rubber to improve the tensile strength and durability of asphalt mixture as a sustainable method which can be used in construction of surface layer. In this study one proportion of reclaimed asphalt pavement RAP (25%) was used by weight of mixture with virgin and modified asphalt binders. The modified asphalt binders were prepared in three proportions of crumb-rubber (5, 10, and 15%) % by weight of the virgin binder. Many experimental tests were conducted on the modified and recycled mixtures such as Marshall stability and flow, indirect tensile strength and moisture damage induce. The results indicated that the adding of RAP material resulted in slightly improve in the strength and durability, while the adding of crumb-rubber as a modifier for asphalt binder with RAP material has given impressive results in improving the stability, tensile strength, and resistance to moisture damage.