Benefits of including hot mix recycled materials in pavement design

Abstract

Pavement recycling is becoming more acceptable among the available techniques for pavement maintenance/rehabilitation. It is based on sustainable development, by reusing materials reclaimed from the pavements and reducing the disposal of asphalt materials. Based on the results obtained from laboratory tests carried out on two bituminous mixtures, one of which including 50% of recycled asphalt, some simulations were made for the design of a pavement where those mixtures would be used as a bituminous base. The aim of this investigation was to assess the benefits of using recycled materials, taking into account environmental and economical advantages. The results of pavement design were obtained using the linear elastic theory in BISAR (the structural analysis software developed by Shell). Fundamental properties of the mixtures analysed in this study were obtained from laboratory tests, which were carried out to determine their stiffness modulus and their resistance to fatigue and permanent deformation. With the results obtained from the pavement design, the cost savings of using recycled materials were quantified.