Investigation of the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement as aggregates in roller compacted concrete for road base pavement in Vietnam

Abstract

When reinforcing existing asphalt pavement while the pavement elevation must be maintained, old surface asphalt layers are generally milled to apply the new ones. The use of the reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) recovered from road deconstruction is very important. It is an actual need due to the rise of asphalt cost and the lack of natural aggregates. It respects also sustainable development. On the other hand, pavement rutting is the most issue in Vietnam. In order to reduce this issue, it is necessary to find efficient solutions. Roller compacted concrete (RCC), with well-known advantages (simple, economical and high stiffness modulus), is found as a very promising technique. For these purposes, a science and technology project has been granted by the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam. It aims to investigate the use of RAP as aggregates in roller compacted concrete (RCC) for road base pavement. In this project, RAP from two different resources is selected and their characteristics are evaluated. They are then used for the RCC mix design with three different RAP contents (0, 40 and 80% in masse of aggregates) and two different cements (PCB30 and PC40). Specimens are fabricated in laboratory to determine traditional mechanical properties (compressive strength, tensile splitting strength and elastic modulus) according to their curing periods. The results on one RAP show that the studied mixes have potential performances and can be used for road base pavement. Finally, one mix has been chosen to be used for construction of a full-scale experimental pavement.