Rheological characterisation of bituminous binder blends for the design of asphalt mixes containing high recycled asphalt content

Abstract

Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is gained from road reconstructions; however, its usage is less optimised in Hungary and neighbouring regions, since on the project level the proportion of RAP in the asphalt mixes is only 10-15%. This is less than the recommended level in other EU countries. The higher usage of RAP provides economic and environmental advantages, decreasing the need for new materials, the transport cost, and the carbon footprint. The composition of the resultant bituminous binder blend is a critical element in the asphalt mix design with high RA content. This paper discusses the design of the resultant bituminous binder blend to provide performance and compliance characterisation. This paper also presents the complex rheological analysis of the base bitumen, the bitumen extracted from the RA and the bituminous binder blend, applying the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) device. It was shown that for paving grade bitumen (B), polymer modified bitumen (PmB) and rubber modified bitumen (GmB), the addition of higher proportions of RA content is possible without compromising on the performance of the binder blend. With a carefully chosen paving grade bitumen it is possible to utilise up to 40% RA content. For the polymer modified bitumen, the limit of the RA content is 20%. For the rubber modified bitumen, the various proportions of RA contents showed no or negligible changes in the characteristics of the bitumen and the RA content can reach 30% in this case.