Variations in strength and stiffness of cement-stabilized reclaimed asphalt pavement and marginal lateritic soil blends in tropical climate

Abstract

This article investigated the effects of temperature on the variations in strength and stiffness of cement-stabilized reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and marginal lateritic soil (MLS) as a sustainable bound base course of flexible pavement. A site investigation to assess the temperature profile of highway pavement in the northeast of Thailand was conducted to find the temperature variation of pavement structure in tropical country. Laboratory tests including unconfined compressive strength (UCS), modulus of elasticity (E50), and indirect tensile strength (ITS) tests were conducted on cement-stabilized RAP and MLS blends at varying mix proportions and temperatures. It is evident that the temperature significantly affects the strength and stiffness of specimens containing RAP due to the presence of bitumen covering the RAP aggregate. The additional MLS and cement can reduce the viscoelasticity of RAP aggregate. The strength reduction due to the temperature is characteristic of the RAP mixtures with MLS and cement. The normalized relationships of UCS and temperature and the empirical correlations between E50 and ITS versus UCS were presented. This set of relationships is a valuable tool for the mix design of cement-stabilized RAP and MLS blends as a bound base course in tropical countries.