Fundamental characterisation of reclaimed asphalts: the importance of testing homogeneous specimens

• Main Authors: Davide, Lo Presti, Abdul Hassan, Norhidayah, Airey, Gordon D., Collop, Andrew
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/37755/

This study highlights the importance of defining appropriate specimen manufacturing procedures when assessing the fundamental properties of reclaimed asphalt mixes for further modelling purposes. Two gyratory compactor procedures were used: the first leading to specimens with a non-uniform air voids distribution and the second tailored to obtain homogeneous specimens. The study was performed by using three SMAs incorporating up to 30% of reclaimed asphalt but designed to have identical properties. A detailed characterisation of the loose mixes and binders, a X-Ray CT micro-structural study of the manufactured specimens and a further mechanical characterisation showed that testing nonhomogeneous gyratory specimens leads to a significant overestimation of the mechanical properties of asphalt mixes. This study has been developed within the FP7 project ReRoad.