EFFECTIVENESS OF A SPECIFIC RECLAIMED ASPHALT PAVEMENT (RAP) REJUVENATING AGENT

Contemporary construction materials are expected to be recyclable in a closed -loop system, meaning they should allow reuse, after they have lost their original properties while being part of the original building product. This group of materials should undoubtedly include bituminous mixtures, which may be reclaimed during road renewal or alteration projects, and subsequently reused as Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP). Noteworthy, RAP performance depends on the properties of the binder it contains, whose visco-elastic behaviour has been affected by the ageing processes. Fortunately enough, these properties of bitumen may be effectively recovered by means of special chemical agents called rejuvenators. This paper presents the results of two -stage research project on this subject. The first stage included testing of the bituminous binder under analysis. It was a 50/70 pen -grade bitumen tested before and after short-term ageing (RTFOT + PAV) and aged binder tested after rejuvenation treatment. Spectroscopic and fractional composition analyses were carried out in addition to determining the basic properties i.e. penetration, softening point, dynamic shear modulus and phase angle. In the second stage of this research project a different material was tested: AC 16 W 50/70 asphalt concrete sourced from a hot -mix asphalt plant. The specimens were made from the fresh mix (control) and the same mix after short- and long-term ageing and after subsequent rejuvenation treatment. The determinations included density, bulk density, water sensitivity, stiffness modulus, resistance to fatigue and low temperature performance determined with the Thermal Stress Restrained Specimen Test (TSRST).The tests of RAP treated with oleyl alcohol ethoxylate phosphate ester carried out as part of this research showed improvement of the performance properties of aged bituminous binders, and thus confirmed the suitability of this agent in road paving applications.