The study on potential use of RAP in WMA pavement layers with the inclusion of Basalt Fibers for the effect of mechanical and moisture Performance

Abstract

Pavement engineers are facing difficulties for optimizing the use of natural resources and minimizing the consumption fuel involved in the manufacturing process of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). As a matter of fact the preparation of HMA involves in the release of harmful gases and to prevent, researches are working towards improving the environmental effects. Warm mix asphalt (WMA) is one of the solutions to increase the pavement performance with a concern to environmental effects that has gained a lot of popularity. In the present study, laboratory investigations were carried for the evaluation of laboratory prepared WMA mixes containing Reclaimed Asphalt Pavements (RAP) and with the inclusion of fiber at different proportion. This method of mix modification will not only lower the energy consumption but also reduce the release of harmful gases as observed in HMA mix proportions. Nevertheless the above mix combinations are intended to achieve sustainable pavement construction practices. The purpose of this research is to look into the effect of using RAP in modified mixes on mechanical and durability proportions in order to evaluate the effect of partial replacement of BC grade-2 WMA mixtures.. In this work, the effectiveness of basalt fibre modified bitumen mixtures was also examined using fibre in various amounts. Compaction test on binder modification, moisture damage, indirect tensile strength tests, and Marshall test effects on RAP, WMA mixes were used to assess the performance of binder modification, RAP, and fibre modified mixes. The laboratory test results indicated that the asphaltene proportions were shown better results at 3%WMA binder prepared with sasobit, a wax compound. The WMA asphalt mix prepared with RAP at 20% and with 0.6% of basalt fiber has provided better performance compared with the WMA mixes alone. This will certainly minimize the environmental effects through energy reduction and improved mechanical properties along with the durability performance.