Performance Evaluation and Environmental Impact Assessment of Asphalt-Treated Mixtures Used in Low-Volume Roads

Abstract

The performance of asphalt-treated mixtures used in low-volume roads was evaluated, and their environmental benefits were assessed. Laboratory tests, including permeability, modified Lottman, Hamburg-type loaded wheel tracking, flow number, semicircular bend, dissipated creep strain energy, and dynamic modulus tests, were performed to examine the physical and mechanical properties of the asphalt-treated mixtures. Mechanistic–Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) software was used to compare the performance of low-volume pavement sections with asphalt-treated mixtures to that of a conventional hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixture. Life-cycle assessment was also conducted to quantify the environmental impacts of using asphalt-treated mixtures in lieu of conventional HMA mixtures in the construction of low-volume roads. Test results demonstrated that asphalt-treated mixtures containing limestone and reclaimed asphalt pavement exhibited similar properties to those of well-performing conventional HMA mixtures. MEPDG analysis showed that pavement sections with asphalt-treated mixtures exhibited similar performance to those with conventional low-volume HMA mixtures. Life-cycle assessment indicated that using asphalt-treated mixtures in low-volume roads could result in reductions of up to 29% in carbon dioxide emissions, 29% in energy consumption, 39% in water consumption, and 42% in hazardous waste generation.