Influence of recycled concrete aggregates from different sources in hot mix asphalt design

Abstract The waste generated by the construction industry generally has an undesired negative impact on both human and animal life as well as the environment. Among these wastes, recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), due to its good residual physical, mechanical, mineralogical, and chemical properties, has attracted promising potential for re-use and incorporation in the construction of new infrastructural elements. These infrastructure applications include construction of sidewalks, curb and gutters, subbase/base layers, and/or as a partial replacement of natural aggregates (NA) in the production of hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures. In this laboratory study, experimental research work was conducted to evaluate the influence of RCA on the mechanical properties and performance of RCA modified HMA mixtures against a control HMA mixture without any RCA. RCAs were obtained from two different concrete sources, namely: (a) one from the demolition of a building (RCAB), and (b) another one from the rehabilitation of a Portland cement concrete pavement (RCAP). Both NA and RCA were characterized taking into account physical and mechanical properties. HMA mixtures were produced using the Marshall mix-design method by replacing 0.0% (control), 15%, 30%, and 45%, respectively, of the coarse NA fraction with RCA. Thereafter, laboratory testing (i.e., Scanning Electron Microscopy [SEM], resilient modulus, indirect tensile strength, etc.) including material property characterization and performance evaluation were conducted on HMA samples. Overall, the laboratory test results showed that the RCA modified mixtures exhibited a similar behavior to conventional HMA mixtures, but with greater environmental benefits and potential cost savings through the recycling and reuse of waste concrete aggregates. However, it was observed that the laboratory performance of RCA modified mixtures is strongly dependent on the RCA source and dosage, with RCAP exhibiting superior performance over RCAB. HMA mixtures produced with RCA provided higher optimum asphalt-binder content (OAC) than that of mixes with NA.