Date of Award

Spring 2011

Project Type

Thesis

Program or Major

Civil Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science

First Advisor

Jo Sias Daniel

Abstract

This thesis presents the summary of several case studies on the long term performance of high recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) sections. Roadway sections which contained more than 20% RAP and that had been in place for at least 10 years were identified from across the United States and Canada with the help of the local agencies. The long term performances of these various recycled sections were compared directly to mixes made with similar virgin materials via measurements of distress criteria. These distress criteria included rutting, cracking, ride quality, and any overall performance rating that the local agencies used in evaluating their pavement sections. It was also insured that RAP and virgin sections were placed in the same general location and time frame as the recycled sections. In summary, pavement sections utilizing high RAP perform at a level comparable to that of virgin sections. The high RAP sections on average tend to exhibit more rutting and cracking than the virgin sections, but not to a level that significantly affected the long term performance of the pavements. The ultimate goal of this study was to provide the paving community with documentation on the long term performance of high RAP roadway sections compared to that of virgin sections.

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