Structural Performance of an Asphalt Pavement Containing Cold Central Plant Recycling and Full-Depth Reclamation

Abstract

Pavement recycling techniques are often perceived as only applicable to lower traffic volume roadways. However, recent studies have shown their potential for long service lives in higher traffic volume applications. This study documented the response of an asphalt pavement section, constructed using full-depth reclamation (FDR) and cold central plant recycling (CCPR), on a portion of I-64 in Virginia reconstructed between 2016 and 2019. The pavement section was instrumented and the response was compared with a similarly instrumented pavement section (Section S12) placed at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) Test Track in 2012. Previous studies have shown that Section S12 is a long-life pavement and it carried 30 million equivalent single axle loads (ESALs) while showing no evidence of deterioration at the pavement surface or from installed instrumentation. The results from the I-64 Segment II project showed that it had much lower horizontal strain values at the bottom of the asphalt layers but slightly higher vertical pressure values on top of the subgrade when compared with NCAT Section S12. Despite the slightly higher values (about 1 pounds per square inch [psi] difference), the vertical pressure on top of the subgrade was very low for both pavement sections. The study confirmed that a recycled pavement section could be constructed and result in low strain and pressure values and is expected to have a long service life in a high traffic volume environment.