Methods to evaluate the aging grades of reclaimed asphalt binder

Abstract

The use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is of great significance for alleviating the problem of resource waste and land space occupation in the context of asphalt pavement. However, the use rate of RAP is still low in many countries because of limited understanding and no unified recycling guidelines, especially in terms of materials classification and aging grades. In this study, reclaimed asphalt pavements from sixteen different sections in southern China were collected, including with base and polymer modified asphalt (PMA). The performance of the reclaimed asphalt binder (RAB) at low, average and high temperatures was tested, using various methods, to find suitable indexes for categorizing aging grades. The viscosity (135 °C) and penetration (25 °C) were found to distinguish the aging degree of RAB the most consistently, and served as the indices to classify the RAB into different grades. To simplify the evaluation of aging grades, a comprehensive service life was determined using the Analytic Hierarchy Process, taking service years and surface levels into account. As a result, a good correlation was found between comprehensive service life and the aging grades.