Rutting performance of asphalt pavements

Abstract

Cold in-place recycling (CIR) and cold central plant recycling (CCPR) of asphalt concrete (AC) and/or full-depth reclamation (FDR) of AC and aggregate base are faster and less costly rehabilitation alternatives to conventional reconstruction for structurally distressed pavements. This study examines 26 different rehabilitation projects across the USA and Canada. Field cores from these projects were tested for dynamic modulus and repeated load permanent deformation. These structural characteristics are compared to reference values for hot mix asphalt (HMA). A rutting sensitivity analysis was performed on two rehabilitation scenarios with recycled and conventional HMA structural overlays in different climatic conditions using the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design (MEPDG). The cold-recycled scenarios exhibited performance similar to that of HMA overlays for most cases. The exceptions were the cases with thin HMA wearing courses and/or very poor cold-recycled material quality. The overall conclusion is that properly designed CIR/FDR/CCPR cold-recycled materials are a viable alternative to virgin HMA materials.