Impact of preheating temperatures and rap characteristics on the activation of rap binder

Abstract

Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is preheated to 120◦C or lower in hot central plant recycling due to specification and equipment limitations. However, the insufficient activation of reclaimed asphalt (RA) caused by low preheating temperature may affect the final properties of reclaimed asphalt mixtures (RAM) and lead to insufficient utilization of RA binder. This study evaluated the influence of preheating temperature and aging of RA binder on binder activation by producing specimens with 100% RAP. The volumetric and mechanical properties of specimens were analyzed to reflect the effect of activation. The results indicate that preheating temperature has a significant impact on the activation of RA binder. Regardless of the source of RAP, RA binder can be highly activated at 180◦C, while the degree of activation decreases significantly at 120◦C. By using an artificial RAP with different degrees of aging, the aging of RA binder is found to be harmful to activation only when the preheating temperature is low (such as 120◦C). Hence, if the equipment is capable of doing so, it is better to raise the preheating temperature of RAP to improve the activation of RA binder, especially for binder with a higher degree of aging.