Thermal Analysis-Based Field Validation of the Deformation of a Recycled Base Course Made with Innovative Road Binder

The deformation of the cold recycled mixture with foamed bitumen in a recycled base with an innovative three-component road binder and foamed bitumen is analysed. Numerical simulation results for the pavement constructed, based on laboratory test results, were verified against the data from the monitoring system installed on the road trial section. In addition, environmental effects, such as air temperature and humidity levels in the pavement structure layers, were considered. Thermal analyses were conducted to identify the thermal properties of the pavement materials under steady heat transfer rate. Determining temperature distribution in the road cross-section in combination with relaxation functions determined for individual pavement layers contributed to the high effectiveness of the numerical simulation of deformation and displacement in the recycled base and the entire pavement. The experimental method of identifying thermal properties allows a fast and satisfactory prediction of temperature distribution in the pavement cross-section.

Long-Term Performance of Pavement Structures with Cold In-Place Recycled Base Course

Properly designed and maintained asphalt pavements operate for ten to twenty-five years and have to be rehabilitated after that period. Cold in-place recycling has priority over all other rehabilitation methods since it is done without preheating and transportation of reclaimed asphalt pavement. Multiple researches on the performance of cold recycled mixtures have been done; however, it is unclear how the entire pavement structure (cold recycled asphalt pavement overlaid with asphalt mixture) performs depending on binding agents. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the performance of cold in-place recycled asphalt pavements considering binding agents (foamed bitumen in combination with cement or only cement) and figure out which binder leads to the best pavement performance. Three road sections rehabilitated in 2000, 2003, and 2005 were analysed. The performance of the entire pavement structure was evaluated in terms of the International Roughness Index, rut depth, and pavement surface distress in 2013 and 2017.