6th ICPT, Sapporo, Japan, July 2008

LABORATORY INVESTIGATION OF POSSIBILITY

OF RE-RECYCLING ASPHALT CONCRETES
Kai SU
Special Researcher, Airport Research Center, Port and Airport Research Institute
1-1, Nagase 3, Yokosuka 239-0826, Japan
kai-su@pari.go.jp
Yoshitaka HACHIYA
Service Center of Port Engineering (SCOPE), 3-3-1, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo,
100-0013, Japan
hachiya@scopenet.or.jp
Ryota MAEKAWA
Senior Researcher, Airport Research Center, Port and Airport Research Institute
1-1, Nagase 3, Yokosuka 239-0826, Japan
maekawa-r28a@pari.go.jp

ABSTRACT
Reclaimed asphalt aggregate (RAA) is not new to the pavement industry and considerable
efforts have already been devoted to investigating the efficient use of RAA. Today, with quite
a number of airports and highways in Japan requiring pavements re-rehabilitation, a large
quantity of RAA needs handling once again. However, there has been little research done in
the past to discuss the possibility of recycling RAA a second time. Since it can save natural
resources, costs and the environment, the re-utilization of RAA in new paving mixtures is
very promising. So as to investigate the properties of re-recycled asphalt concrete (RRAC) in
comparison with new asphalt concrete (NAC) and once recycled asphalt concretes (RAC), a
series of laboratory tests are carried out in this project. Results indicate that asphalt extracted
from aged RAC can be used again and that RRAC offers similar performance to NAC when
using straight asphalt and slightly lower performance in case of using modified asphalt. In
conclusion, as a valuable technical, environmental and economic approach, RRAC seems
feasible as an effective way to realize re-utilization of RAA.
KEY WORDS
re-recycled asphalt concrete, reclaimed asphalt aggregate, straight asphalt, modified asphalt,
laboratory tests

435

Laboratory Investigation of Possibility of Re-recycling Asphalt Concretes

INTRODUCTION
The recycling of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) material results in a reusable mixture of aggregate
and asphalt binder known as reclaimed asphalt aggregate (RAA). Recycled asphalt concrete
(RAC) made with RAA is not new to the pavement industry having been in wide use since the
1970s1), 2), 3), 4). In Japan, over 98% of demolished asphalt pavements are now re-used5).
However, when pavements made with RAC reach the end of their service life, there remains
the problem of how to deal with the milled materials. To eliminate this concern in terms of
preserving the environment and saving resources, re-recycled asphalt concrete (RRAC: twice
recycled asphalt concrete) will be the best strategy.
However, although considerable research has been dedicated to the practice of using RAA the
first time, RRAC has attracted little attention in recent years because most asphalt pavements
using RAA are still within their service lives. In the near future, though, many of them will
reach the end of their lives and in turn rehabilitation will once again have to be scheduled.
Consequently, there is an urgent need to investigate the properties of RRAC in greater detail
and evaluate the possibility of using RAA for paving a second time. To this end, a series of
laboratory tests were conducted to investigate the performances of RRAC. The results give an
encouraging indication that RRAC is adequate for pavement rehabilitation as an efficient way
to promote the reuse of RAA.
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
Test program
To evaluate the properties of RRAC, a series of laboratory tests were designed. A flowchart
of the test is graphically shown in Figure 1.
Mix design

Materials

Mix design

NAC

Aging

Mix design

RAC

Aging

RAC test

NAC test

RRAC

RRAC test

Properties
Asphalt test

Asphalt test

Asphalt test

Figure 1

Asphalt test

Asphalt test

Flowchart of test

Instead of using real RAA from the field, laboratory-prepared RAA materials were tested in
this study. The RAA used to produce RAC was obtained from NAC after subjecting it to one
cycle of accelerated aging; likewise, the RAA for RRAC was obtained from RAC after
subjecting it to the same cycle of aging. In the accelerated aging process, an asphalt concrete
with a thickness of about 5 cm was uniformly spread in a pre-heated oven at the temperature
of 60C. The oven was then filled with oxygen and the asphalt concrete was left to age for a
period of 24 hours at the same temperature of 60C. Subsequently, the artificial RAA was
removed from the oven and stirred roughly. The above steps were repeated five times to
complete one accelerated aging. This process fully simulates the hardening of an asphalt
concrete in field aging5).
The properties of the recovered asphalt were investigated. Samples were extracted from the

436

Su, Hachiya and Maekawa

RAC and RRAC by the Solvent extraction method briefly described here6). Prior to testing, a
sample of RAC or RRAC weighing about 100 g was ground into small particles, dried in an
oven about 110C for at least 30 minutes and then placed in a centrifuge container after
blending with 350-400 mL added trichloroethylene. The blended solution was centrifuged for
a minimum of 30 minutes at 770 G until there was no clear filler found. Subsequently, the
centrifuged solution was poured into a distillation flask for removal of the solvent from the
asphalt binder. Finally, the residues were the recovered asphalts and subjected to appropriate
investigations, such as ingredients analysis and other regular properties evaluations including
penetration, softening point, ductility, density and viscosity at 60C.
Test method6)
Rutting, fatigue cracking and low temperature cracking are commonly treated as the three
major distresses in flexible pavements. Here, the performance of RRAC was evaluated by
wheel-tracking tests and three-point bending tests in comparison with RAC and NAC. In
addition, the abrasion properties of RRAC were studied in raveling tests because of the fear
that the addition of RAA may degrade the viscosity of the asphalt concrete and increase
susceptibility to raveling.
Wheel-tracking test
Wheel-tracking tests were used to evaluate the rutting susceptibility of the asphalt concrete. A
repeated load of 0.64 MPa was applied to a specimen. These tests were carried out at a
constant temperature of 60C. Specimen had dimensions of 300 mm in width, 300 mm in
length and 50 mm in thickness.
Three-point bending test
Three point bending tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of the asphalt
concretes in term of resistance to fatigue cracking. The specimens used were made by sawing
up a plate of the same dimensions as the specimen used in the wheel-tracking tests into four
slices. Each specimen being 50 mm wide, 50 mm thick and 300 mm long, was tested to
determine the tensile strength at temperatures ranging from -10C to 20C at a loading rate of
10 mm/min (1.2 10-3/s of strain rate at the bottom of the specimen).
Raveling test
To evaluate the ability of the asphalt concrete to resist abrasion, raveling tests at a temperature
of -10C were carried out. Specimens of dimensions of 150 mm wide, 50 mm thick and 400
mm long was used and fixed under a rotating wheel. During the tests, saddle chains fixed to a
rotating wheel caused the abrasion on the surface of the specimen as the wheel moved back
and forth. After 5,940 cycles, the abraded area can be calculated as an indicator of abrasion by
the product of the average abrasion depth and its width.
MATERIALS
Properties of new materials
The new aggregates included coarse sandstone, fine river gravel and limestone filler. All
aggregate properties meet the specified requirement7). Two types of asphalt were selected to
produce the asphalt concrete: straight asphalt with the penetration of 60-80 and polymer
modified asphalt termed type II. Detailed information of two asphalts is listed in Table 1.
Aggregate gradation
To facilitate the comparison among NAC, RAC and RRAC, the same aggregate gradation
was used for the three asphalt concretes irrespective of the asphalt type. The target aggregate
437

Laboratory Investigation of Possibility of Re-recycling Asphalt Concretes

gradation curve is as shown in Figure 2.

Table 1
Property
Penetration at 5C, 1/10mm
Softening point,C
Ductility at 15C, cm
Solution, %
Flash point, C
Mass loss, %
Thin film
oven test Penetration residue, %
Density at 15C, g/cm3
Kinetic viscosity at 150C, mm2/s
Tenacity at 25C, Nm
Toughness at 25C, Nm

Properties of asphalt used

Straight asphalt (60-80) Modified asphalt (Type)
69
56
49.5
69.0
150+
70
99.9
80.4
324
336
0.09
63.8
80.4
1.034
1.031
214
27.7
33.3

100

Percent passing (%)

80

Target gradation
Specified range

60

40

20

0
0.075

0.15

0.3

0.6

2.36

4.75

13.2 19.0

Sieve size (mm)

Figure 2

Aggregate gradation curves

Mix design
All asphalt concretes were designed by following the standard Marshall method. In the case
of RAC and RRAC, a percentage of RAA up to 70% was blended with new aggregates to
match the target gradation based on the understanding that a recycling rate of 70% can
achieve an acceptable level of performance5). Table 2 presents the design information for all
concretes, and their properties all satisfy the current civil airport design specification7).
Properties of designed asphalt concretes
Straight asphalt
Modified asphalt
Asphalt concrete
NAC
RAC
RRAC
NAC
RAC
RRAC
OAC,%
5.2
5.2
5.1
5.3
5.2
5.1
Rejuvenator,%
4.6
4.5
6.0
2.5
3
Density, g/cm
2.408
2.404
2.411
2.404
2.404
2.400
Air void, %
2.9
2.9
2.5
2.9
2.8
2.9
VFA, %
80.9
80.5
82.6
81.1
81.3
80.4
Stability, kN
11.0
12.2
12.2
17.9
16.2
16.2
Flow, 1/10mm
33
37
35
36
38
38
Note: OAC= Optimum asphalt content, VFA= Void filled with asphalt
Table 2

438

Su, Hachiya and Maekawa

TEST RESULTS
Properties of recovered asphalt
The recovered asphalt binders were evaluated at different recycling stages. Table 3 shows
their properties of asphalt. As expected, both two types of asphalt exhibit some deterioration
at different stages after aging, while asphalts extracted from RRAC and RAC exhibit restored
properties compared with the aged asphalt. In the case of straight RAC and RRAC, the
extracted asphalt exhibits almost identical properties in terms of softening point, penetration
and ductility to that from NAC. There are minor differences in viscosity at 60C, though their
values too are comparable. For modified asphalt, the penetration varies little among the
asphalts extracted from NAC, RAC and RRAC, while relatively significant differences are
found in other properties: softening point, ductility and 60C viscosity. Still, the properties of
asphalt extracted from modified RAC and RRAC are similar in this detailed comparison.
Table 3 Results of test on extracted asphalt binder
Properties
Asphalt
New
Aged
Recycled
Re-aged Re-recycled
straight
60
41
59
42
61
Penetration at 5C,
modified
50
38
48
46
48
1/10mm
Softening point,
straight
49
53
49
52
48
modified
72
70
65
67
65
C
100+
57
100+
52
100+
Ductility at 15C, straight
cm
modified
52
24
38
17
36
239
464
225
358
217
Viscosity at 60C, straight
modified
5,509
10,604
5,643
7,834
5,008
Pas
straight
1.038
1.041
1.042
1.045
1.045
Density at 15C,
3
modified
1.044
1.048
1.047
1.047
1.047
g/cm
In general, a decrease in ductility is often associated with a reduction in fatigue resistance and
subsequent poor fatigue performance of an asphalt pavement in the field 8). Thus, it is inferred
that RRAC and RAC recycled appropriately with using straight asphalt can yield satisfactory
fatigue performance compared with NAC. However, it is suspected that inferior fatigue
performance will be exhibited with RRAC and RAC as compared with NAC when modified
asphalt is used.
These test results indicate that re-aged and aged straight asphalt can be restored to the same
state as new asphalt by recycling. For modified asphalt, however, the overall performance of
asphalt extracted from RRAC is lower than that from NAC, while similar properties are
exhibited by asphalts extracted from RRAC and RAC.
The composition of the extracted asphalts at different recycling stages was analyzed, as
shown in Figure 3. There are pronounced differences in the contents of saturate, aromatics
and resin among the asphalts extracted from NAC, RAC and RRAC using straight or
modified asphalt. But as for asphaltene, new, recycled and re-recycled asphalt have a
comparable content regardless of whether the asphalt is straight or modified. This reveals that
asphaltene, which plays a major role as the viscosity-building component of asphalt binder,
changes only slightly in quantity at different recycling stages.
Wheel-tracking test results
Figure 4 shows the results of the wheel-tracking tests. One immediate observation is that both
RRAC and RAC exhibit better resistance to rutting than NAC regardless of the asphalt type.

439

Laboratory Investigation of Possibility of Re-recycling Asphalt Concretes

In other words, dynamic stability increases as hardening continues. This is attributed to the
fact that the use of RAA in RAC and RRAC results in stiffer asphalt binders and consequently
superior resistance to rutting. RRAC with modified asphalt shows a greater increase in
dynamic stability than NAC compared with the case using straight asphalt.
100
90
80
asphaltene
resin
aromatics
saturate

Content (%)

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
NAC

RAC RRAC NAC

straight

RAC RRAC
modified

Extracted asphalt

Figure 3

Composition of extracted asphalt binder

1.0

straight asphalt
modified asphalt

8000

straight asphalt
modified asphalt

0.8

Abrasion (cm )

Dynamic stability (cycle/mm)

10000

6000

4000

0.6

0.4

0.2

2000

0.0
NAC

RAC

RRAC

NAC

Asphalt mixture

Figure 4

RAC

RRAC

Asphalt mixture

Wheel-tracking test results

Figure 5

Raveling test results

Raveling test results

The results of raveling test are presented for each of the asphalt concretes in Figure 5. RRAC
and RAC suffer lower abrasion than NAC under the same test condition regardless of whether
the asphalt is straight or modified. This demonstrates that raveling is not an issue for RRAC
due to its superior resistance to abrasion. On the other hand, the abrasion suffered by a
modified asphalt concrete is remarkably lower than that by a straight asphalt concrete at the
same recycling stage.
Three-point bending test results
The results of three-point bending test are more complex, as shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7.
In the case of modified asphalt concrete, the bending strength (Figure 6) increases with
temperature and then decreases after a peak at 0C. Overall, there are no distinct differences
in bending strength among modified NAC, RAC and RRAC. Though similar trend is found in
straight asphalt concrete, there is slight difference in that RAC exhibits greater bending
440

Su, Hachiya and Maekawa

strength than RRAC and NAC in the low temperature range. Common to both two types of
asphalt is that, strain at failure monotonically increases with temperature (Figure 7), with
slight differences exhibited in failure strain at different temperatures.
Tensile strain is a significant material property often utilized as an indicator of ductility and
cracking potential for asphalt concretes. Higher strain at failure indicates that a particular
asphalt concrete can tolerate higher strains before failing under tensile loading 9,10,11). This
means that asphalt concretes with higher strain at failure are more likely to resist fatigue
cracking than those with lower values under similar loading and environmental conditions.
Further, because fatigue cracking is more prevalent at intermediate pavement temperatures,
test results at 20C are used to evaluate fatigue performances. Thus, Figure 7 also tells us that
RRAC has comparable fatigue performance to NAC when using straight asphalt, whereas
with modified asphalt, RRAC shows some reduction in failure strain and in turn resistance to
cracking. The above analysis agrees well with the measured properties of the extracted asphalt
at different recycling stages, as listed in Table 3.
20

20

NAC
RAC
RRAC

15

Bending strength (MPa)

Bending strength (MPa)

15

NAC
RAC
RRAC

10

10

-10

-5

10

15

20

-10

-5

Temperature ( C)

a) Straight asphalt

15

20

b) Modified asphalt

0.040

0.040

0.035

0.035

NAC
RAC
RRAC

NAC
RAC
RRAC

0.030

Strain at failure (mm/mm)

Strain at failure (mm/mm)

10

Bending strength

Figure 6

0.030

Temperature ( C)

0.025
0.020
0.015
0.010

0.025
0.020
0.015
0.010
0.005

0.005

-10

-5

10

15

-10

20

a) Straight asphalt
Figure 7

-5

10

15

20

Temperature ( C)

Temperature ( C)

b) Modified asphalt
Strain at failure

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Based on the test results and analysis described above, the following major conclusions can
be drawn from this study:

441

Laboratory Investigation of Possibility of Re-recycling Asphalt Concretes

1) Asphalt extracted from RRAC with straight asphalt reverts to similar properties to that
extracted from NAC. However, in the case of modified asphalt, the asphalt extracted from
RRAC exhibits inferior performance to that extracted from NAC.
2) RRAC with straight asphalt is considered acceptable for use judging from its comparable
and even superior performance to NAC in terms of rutting, abrasion and mechanical
properties.
3) RRAC with modified asphalt is also acceptable due to its superior performance, though its
fatigue performance seems slightly inferior compared with NAC.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Sincere thanks are given to National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management of
Japan for its assistance with this study.
REFERENCES
1) Little, D. H. And J.A. Epps: Evaluation of Certain Structural Characteristics of Recycled
Pavement Materials, Journal of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists, Vol. 49,
pp 219-251, 1980.
2) Kandhal, P. S. and K. Y. Foo: Designing Recycled Hot-Mixture Asphalt Mixtures Using
Superpave Technology, NCAT Rep. No. 96-5, National Center for Asphalt Technology,
Auburn, Ala., pp723. 1997.
3) Takahashi, O. and Y. Hachiya: A Study on the Chrematistics of Recycled Asphalt Mixture
Using Different Kinds of Recycling Additive, Journal of Pavement Eng., JSCE, Vol. 5,
pp2330. 2000.
4) Mcdaniel, R. and R. M. anderson: Recommended Use of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement in
the Superpave Mixture Design Method, Technicians Manual, NCHRP Rep. 452, National
Cooperative Highway Research Program, Washington, D.C., 2001.
5) Hachiya, Y., Y. Tsubokawa and O. Takahashi: Laboratory and Field Studies of Recycled
Asphalt Concrete for Airport Pavement Surface Courses, Proc. of 10th international
Conference on the Structural Design of Asphalt Pavements, Quebec, Canada, 2006.
6) Japan Road Association: Manual for Test Method of Pavements, 1996 (in Japanese).
7) Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Japan (MOLIT): Common
Specifications for Airport Civil Engineering Works, 2001 (in Japanese).
8) Glover, C. J., R. R. Davison, C. H. Domke, Y. Ruan, P. Juristyarini, D. B. Knorr and H. S.
Jung: Development of a New Method for Assessing Asphalt Binder Durability with Field
Validation, Report FHWA/TX-03/1872-2, Texas Transportation Institute, College Station,
Texas. 2005.
9) Hao P. W. and Y. Hachiya: Study On Performance and Test Methods of Asphalt Mixtures
for Airport Pavements, Technical Note, No. 177, National Institute for Land and
infrastructure Management, 15p., 2004.
10) Shu, X., Et Al.: Laboratory Evaluation of Fatigue Characteristics of Recycled Asphalt
Mixture, Construction and Building Materials, 2007.
11) Walubita, L.: Comparison of Fatigue Analysis Approaches for Predicting Fatigue Lives of
Hot-Mix Asphalt Concrete (HMAC) Mixtures, PhD Dissertation, University of Texas
A&M, 2006.

442