Sustainable applications of asphalt mixes with reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) materials: Innovative and new building brick

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental study to evaluate the effect of various percentages of RAP on the properties of asphalt mixtures. Moreover, the thermal characteristics of using asphalt mixes with RAP in asphalt concrete blocks for sustainable application in building construction was also studied. For this issue, four mixtures, which were the combination of different ratios of RAP materials viz, 0%, 30%, 60%, 90% and virgin aggregates, were studied in this research. A comprehensive experimental program was conducted to find out the highest ratio of RAP in asphalt mixes that retains an acceptable level of physical and mechanical properties. This revealed that 90% RAP has such an acceptable level. Finally, the thermal characteristics of asphalt concrete blocks for walls in building construction were analytically investigated using TAS EDSL. This software was initially validated by building a real model of walls with asphalt concrete blocks where temperature and humidity measurements were taken through data loggers for both the indoor and outdoor spaces. A comparative study was conducted to find out the energy efficient behaviour of this material in four different climate conditions. It was concluded that the asphalt concrete mixes with 90% RAP are beneficial materials for use as a thermal mass in building construction and it is suitable only for cold weathers.