Utilization of recycled concrete wastes and latex polymer for sustainable road construction

Abstract

Road pavements demand a huge quantity of natural stone aggregates and involve a very high amount of expenditures. The use of coarse recycled concrete aggregate (CRCA) as a substitution for coarse natural stone aggregate (CNSA) may bring several benefits concerning societal, economic and environmental sustainability. This will solve the problem of waste management and minimize the conservation of natural resources, carbon emissions and cost of road construction. But, the high porosity of cement mortar in CRCA is more susceptible to moisture damage which leads to premature failures in the road pavements. The present study examines the influence of centrifuged latex (CENEX) polymer on the moisture sensitivity of asphalt mixes made with CRCA. Different moisture sensitivity tests including tensile strength ratio test, boiling water test, resilient modulus ratio test and wheel tracking test are conducted on unmodified and CENEX-modified RCA mixes, and the comparisons have been drawn with control mix prepared using stone aggregate. The results reveal that the incorporation of CENEX polymer increases the resistance of the RCA mixture to moisture damage. Moreover, the CENEX-modified RCA mixes exhibit comparable performance with the control mix. As a whole, the present study improves moisture damage resistance of RCA mixture using CENEX polymer, which leads to an efficient alternative material for road construction.