Effectiveness of Different RAP Rejuvenators Obtained from Tests on Marshall Samples

Abstract

Sustainable development is a basic principle of modern world society. One of important aspects of sustainable development is care of natural resources, To achieve this goal it is obligatory to use within building materials those from recycling. In terms of road engineering it refers to all reclaimed materials from pavement construction, however, one of the most valuable of them is reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). Its use in production of new hot mix asphalt (HMA) is promoted due to environmental issues but it also causes concerns among road administrators. Aged bitumen, being an ingredient of RAP, poses a threat to new HMA, decreasing its cracking resistance regardless of its source. Aged bitumen is more brittle than the' virgin one, thus high RAP content may lead to the same sort of problems within HMA. To enable high RAP content in HMA there are additives (rejuvenators) introduced onto aged bitumen (RAP) to restore its characteristics. Choice between applied rejuvenators is crucial task along with its content in accordance to amount of aged bitumen. The aim of the paper is to pinpoint differences between effects obtained after use of different rejuvenators on mix consisting of 100% RAP. The effect was shown on void content determination and Marshall stability test. Results showed significant differences between 4 rejuvenators of different types, making some of them more effective in comparison to others. Tests confirmed possibility of further investigation on 100% RAP mixes made of confirmed-quality RAP.