Study of Decay Mechanisms and Rules of Recycled Asphalt Pavement via a Full-Scale Experiment

Abstract

Under the influence of long-term vehicle loads and large attenuation degrees, asphalt pavement performance gradually decreases, which leads to failure in fulfilling the appropriate requirements and, in turn, may affect driving safety. The purpose of this paper was to study the attenuation mechanism and rule of styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS)-modified recycled asphalt pavement, so as to determine the applicable position and rational utilization of recycled asphalt mixture. To achieve this goal, two structures were designed, and full-scale experiments were carried out. The performance of the field test road based on accelerated loading testing (ALT) was analyzed through field monitoring data. The fatigue characteristics of stone matrix asphalt-13 (SMA-13) and asphalt concrete-20 (AC-20) mixtures before and after accelerated loading were studied via the trabecular bending fatigue test and dynamic modulus test. The microscopic components in the asphalt mixtures were determined via thin-layer chromatography on chromarods with flame ionization detection (TLC-FID). The results showed that the fatigue properties of recycled asphalt mixture can meet the requirements of ordinary asphalt mixtures and meet the technical standards of asphalt pavement design. With the increase in loading times, the British pendulum number (BPN) value of the two structures tended to be stable, and the BPN of Plan 2 was six less than that of Plan 1. Under the same test conditions, the fatigue life sequence of the recycled asphalt mixture under different loading frequencies was 20 Hz > 10 Hz > 5 Hz. The contents of four components in the reclaimed asphalt mixture were similar to those in the ordinary asphalt mixture. The light component of the reclaimed asphalt mixture of SMA-13 was reduced by 11.69%, and the light component of the ordinary asphalt mixture of SMA-13 was reduced by 15.29% through the full-scale test. In summary, recycled asphalt mixture should not be applied to the upper layer of pavement but can be rationalized in the middle layer and the bottom layer of pavement.