Evaluation of Warm Mix Asphalt Technologies and Recycled Asphalt Pavements in Truckee Meadows, Nevada

This study evaluated the properties and laboratory-performance of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) and Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) mixtures with different levels of Recycled Asphalt Pavements (RAP) content: none for control mixtures, around 15% by dry weight of aggregates, and more than 30% by dry weight of aggregates. The rheological properties were evaluated for virgin and recovered RAP asphalt binders. The target amount of RAP in the mixtures was determined by using Blending Charts and Mortar Experiments. The mixtures are design through the guidelines established in Marshall Mix Design Method considering additional modifications for RAP and WMA from Superpave Mix Design. The mixtures are evaluated for their resistance to moisture damage by means of measuring the Dynamic Modulus |E*| after three freeze/thaw cycles and the indirect tensile strength after one and three freeze/thaw cycles. The resistance of the mixtures to permanent deformation was also evaluated by using the Asphalt Mixture Performance Tester (AMPT) to measure the flow number (FN). For this study, it was determined that the resistance to moisture damage decreases as the number of freeze/thaw cycles increases for most of the evaluated mixtures. Mixtures exhibited an increase in dynamic modulus as the RAP percentage increased. A decrease in the resistance to moisture damage was detected with the increase in RAP content for most of the mixtures. HMA mixtures exhibited a better performance in rutting than the WMA mixtures. An increase in rutting resistance was observed with the increase in RAP percentage for HMA mixtures whereas an inconsistent trend was observed for WMA mixtures. Further study is needed to validate the use of the high percentage of RAP in Washoe County.