Performance analysis of cement treated base layer by incorporating reclaimed asphalt pavement material and chemical stabilizer

Abstract

Milling of an existing pavement after it's service life engenders massive production of reclaimed asphalt pavement material (RAPM), which may cause disposal issues. The current study highlights the sustainable valorization of RAPM in the cement-treated base (CTB) layer by incorporating chemical stabilizers by the full-depth reclamation (FDR) method. CTB mix was prepared in the laboratory by using 100% RAPM with varying cement and chemical admixture content. In order to identify the effect of different content of cement and chemical stabilizer on the laboratory measured different engineering properties of CTB mix were evaluated. Furthermore, to impart more insights on the laboratory-designed CTB mix under actual traffic conditions, the test track was also laid and being monitored by the durability properties of fields sample and falling weight deflectometer (FWD) analysis. Four cement contents of 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, and 5 percent and five chemical stabilizer contents of 0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 percent by weight of cement were added. From obtained data, it can be concluded that mix prepared with 4.5% cement and 4% chemical stabilizer provides the best result in terms of strength parameters and durability properties of studied samples. FWD data advocates that constructed pavement with a designed CTB layer imparts low fatigue behavior as compared with the performance criteria prescribed in Indian Roads Congress (IRC) guidelines. Our study accentuated that 100% recycling of RAPM in FDR technology can be a viable solution as the comprehensive cost analysis showed a 45% cost reduction for the proposed mix by incorporating studied materials.