Bio materials with reclaimed asphalt: from lab mixes properties to non-damaged full scale monitoring and mechanical simulation

Abstract

Three innovative environmentally friendly pavement materials, designed with 50% of Reclaimed Asphalt and three different biomaterials (2 bio-additivated bitumens and 1 bio-binder), were produced in an industrial plant. These mixes were tested in lab and also at full scale using an Accelerated Pavement Test facility. The asphalt mix viscoelastic properties were measured in lab and their intrinsic viscoelastic response were simulated. These rheological models are used to simulate the pavement mechanical response using both elastic and viscoelastic multilayer codes. Hence, full scale measurement performed during the full scale test at an early stage (without damages) can be compared with these simulations. The overall prediction accuracy, when all the signals are considered, is between 4% and 8% for all materials. It can be concluded that material characterisation in lab as well as the selected models are well adapted to simulate actual loading state under a moving load, even for these non-conventional mixes. For temperatures lower than 25°C, elastic modelling appears to be sufficient for pavement structural design with the innovative materials tested here.

Keywords:

• biomaterial
• monitoring
• strain gauge
• elastic simulation
• viscoelastic simulation
• asphalt mix
• recycling
• pavement

Acknowledgements

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement n°607524. BioRePavation is co-funded by Funding Partners of The ERA-NET Plus Infravation and the European Commission. The Funding Partners of the Infravation 2014 Call are:

MINISTERIE VAN INFRASTRUCTUUR EN MILIEU, RIJKSWATERSTAAT

BUNDESMINISTERIUM FÜR VERKEHR, BAU UND STADTENTWICKLUNG,

DANISH ROAD DIRECTORATE,

STATENS VEGVESEN VEGDIREKTORATET,

TRAFIKVERKET – TRV,

VEGAGERÐIN,

MINISTERE DE L'ECOLOGIE, DU DEVELOPPEMENT DURABLE ET DE L'ENERGIE,

CENTRO PARA EL DESARROLLO TECNOLOGICO INDUSTRIAL, ANAS S.p.A.,

NETIVEI, ISRAEL - NATIONAL TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE COMPANY LTD,

FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION USDOT

Notes

1 For elastic calculations, n = 4000. For visco-elastic calculations, n = 800.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by INFRAVATION.