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The effect of recycled concrete aggregate and steel slag on the dynamic properties
of asphalt mixtures
M. Arabani a,, A.R. Azarhoosh b
a
Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Guilan, P.O. Box 3756, Rasht, Iran
b
Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: A high percentage of asphalt mixtures (in terms of weight and volume) are composed of aggregates; thus,
Received 11 December 2010 new aggregates are needed to build and maintain roads. The use of waste material as aggregates in the
Received in revised form 15 February 2012 pavement industry can prevent the accumulation of waste material and environmental pollution and can
Accepted 25 February 2012
reduce primary production costs. Thus, the objective of the present study was to determine the mechan-
Available online 12 April 2012
ical properties of asphalt mixtures with waste concrete and steel slag aggregates. Six different asphalt
mixtures containing three types of aggregate (dacite, recycled concrete and steel slag) were used to pre-
Keywords:
pare Marshall specimens and to determine the optimal asphalt binder content. The mechanical charac-
Dacite
Recycled concrete aggregates
teristics of the mixtures were evaluated by Marshall stability, indirect tensile resilient modulus,
Steel slag dynamic creep and indirect tensile fatigue tests. The results indicated that the optimal mixture contained
Fatigue steel slag coarse aggregates and recycled concrete ne aggregates.
Resilient modulus 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Dynamic creep
1. Introduction and recovers energy spent during the production of waste. Steel
slag is a synthetic aggregate that is produced as a by-product in
Hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures are complex materials com- the steel production process. In particular, steel slag contains 15
posed of mineral aggregates and asphalt binder. The aggregate acts 20% of the iron output of the steel production process [5].
as the structural frame work, and the asphalt binder is used as The use of steel slag as an aggregate in asphalt mixtures is rec-
birdlime in asphalt pavement [1]. HMA contains 9095% by weight ommended due to its superior physical properties; however, steel
and 7585% by volume mineral aggregates [2]. Moreover, the slag should only be used as a ne or course aggregate because hot-
physical properties of coarse and ne aggregates have a signicant mix asphalt with 100% steel slag is susceptible to air voids and bul-
effect on the performance of pavement. The important physical king effects due to the angular shape of steel slag aggregate [6].
properties of aggregates include gradation, particle shape, surface Moreover, not all slags can be used as aggregate: for instance, some
texture, durability, cleanliness, toughness and absorption [3]. slags contain signicant amounts of free lime and magnesia, which
Waste materials can be classied into the following categories: can hydrate and expand in humid environments [7]. Due to the
(a) industrial waste such as cellulose waste, slag, bottom ash and presence of free lime or magnesia, the swelling potential of steel
y ash; (b) municipal/domestic waste such as incinerator residue, slag can result in pavement cracking [8].
scrap rubber and waste glass; (c) mining wastes such as coal mine re-
fuse; (d) construction and demolition (C&D) wastes such as RCA [4].
A signicant portion of the aforementioned waste materials could be 1.2. Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA)
used in road or building construction projects. Thus, in the present
study, steel slag and RCA were used as aggregate replacements. Construction debris from construction and demolition (C&D)
work constitutes a large proportion of solid waste, as shown in
Table 1 [9]. Among various types of construction materials, con-
1.1. Steel slag crete is the most signicant element of recycled aggregates, and
approximately 75%, 70%, 40% and 70% of waste collected from con-
The use of waste from various industrial processes preserves re- struction sites, demolition sites, general civil work and renovation
sources that cannot be replaced, reduces environmental pollution work contains concrete, respectively (see Table 2) [10]. Recycled
concrete has been used in civil projects for more than 20 years;
Corresponding author. thus, in Europe and countries such as Japan and Australia, short-
E-mail address: m_arbani@yahoo.com (M. Arabani). ages of natural aggregates and landll sites are common [11].
0950-0618/$ - see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.02.036
2 M. Arabani, A.R. Azarhoosh / Construction and Building Materials 35 (2012) 17
Table 1 Moreover, Asi et al. assessed the use of steel slag as coarse
The proportion of solid construction waste in various countries [9]. aggregates in asphalt mixtures by replacing 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%
Country Proportion of construction waste to Recycled C&D and 100% of limestone coarse aggregates in concrete asphalt mix-
total waste (%) waste (%) tures with steel slag aggregates. The Marshall stability, indirect
Australia 44 51 tensile resilient modulus, dynamic creep, indirect tensile fatigue
Brazil 15 8 and indirect tensile strength of the asphalt mixtures was evalu-
Denmark 2550 80 ated, and the results indicated that the replacement of up to 75%
Finland 14 40
France 25 2030
of limestone coarse aggregates with steel slag aggregates improved
Germany 19 4060 the mechanical properties of the asphalt concrete mixtures [15].
Hong Kong 38 No information In a study conducted by Wu et al., the use of steel slag as aggre-
Japan 36 65 gate in stone mastic asphalt (SMA) mixtures was evaluated, and X-
Italy 30 10
ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and
Netherlands 26 75
Norway 30 7 mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) were employed to study
Spain 70 17 the composition, structure and morphology of the aggregates.
United Kingdom Over 50 40 The results indicated that the replacement of basalt with steel slag
United States of 29 25 increased the resistance of the SMA to low temperature cracking
America
[16].
The mechanical properties of asphalt mixtures containing steel
slag were determined by Ahmedzade and Sengoz. Specically, the
mechanical characteristics of the mixtures were evaluated by
determining the Marshall stability, indirect tensile stiffness modu-
Table 2
Composition of construction waste in the South East New Territories (SENTs) landll
lus, creep stiffness and indirect tensile strength. The results of the
[10]. aforementioned study suggested that the use of steel slag as a
coarse aggregate improved the mechanical properties of asphalt
Waste type Construction Demolition General civil Renovation
site (%) site (%) work (%) work (%)
mixtures [4].
Metal 4 5 10 5
Wood 5 7 0 5
Plastic 2 3 0 5 2.2. Recycled waste concrete (RCA)
Paper 2 2 0 1
Concrete 75 70 40 70 Thus far, a considerable amount of research on the recycling of
Rock/rubble 2 1 5 0
waste concrete in the asphalt pavement industry has been con-
Sand/soil 5 0 40 0
Glass/tile 3 2 0 10 ducted. For instance, Poon and Chan demonstrated that the use
Others 2 10 5 4 of 100% recycled concrete aggregates increases the optimal mois-
Total 100 100 100 100 ture content and decreases the maximum dry density of sub-base
materials. The California bearing ratio (CBR) values (unsoaked and
soaked) of sub-base materials prepared from 100% recycled con-
crete aggregates were lower than those of natural sub-base mate-
However, in the present study, recycled concrete aggregates pre-
rials. Nevertheless, the soaked CBR values for recycled sub-base
pared from demolished buildings were not directly used in asphalt
materials were greater than 30%, which is the minimum strength
mixtures. Aggregates prepared from the early destruction of build-
required in Hong Kong [17].
ings were rather large; thus, after being transported to the labora-
Khaled and Krizek demonstrated that RCA can be used as a base
tory, the aggregates were crushed by a crushing machine to
material in highway pavements if the recycled concrete aggregates
produce aggregates with dimensions smaller than 19 mm. Due to
are stabilised with 4% cement and 4% y ash by dry weight [18].
the presence of cement paste on the surface of the original natural
Unfortunately, complications arise when RCA is used as a base or
aggregates, recycled concrete aggregates have different physical,
sub-base material. Namely, RCA dissolves easily in water, which in-
chemical and mechanical properties than natural aggregates. The
creases the pH of groundwater and affects the vegetation within
cement paste reduces the density and abrasion resistance of recy-
the vicinity of the road [19].
cled concrete aggregates and increases the water absorption capac-
In a study conducted by Paranavithana and Mohajerani [12], the
ity [12].
volumetric properties (except the percentage of air voids), resilient
However, the use of RCA and steel slag can offer the following
modulus and creep values of asphalt specimens containing RCA
benets: (1) Economic advantages: RCA reduces primary
coarse aggregates were lower than those of similar specimens
production costs and the cost of waste storage. (2) Environmen-
made from fresh aggregates.
tal benets: The use of RCA preserves natural aggregates, re-
Similarly, Wong et al. [20] demonstrated that the resilient mod-
duces the overuse of landlls and reduces transportation
ulus and dynamic creep of the sample increased when recycled
effects and waste emissions. (3) RCAs increase the efciency of
concrete was used as llers/nes. Specically, the resilient modu-
asphalt mixtures.
lus of the samples was determined at 25 C and 40 C, and the addi-
tion of RCA increased the resilient modulus at both temperatures.
2. Literature review However, at 40 C, a less dramatic increase in the resilient modulus
was observed.
2.1. Steel slag (SS) You and Mill-Beale assessed the effects of replacing 25%, 35%,
50% and 75% of the aggregates in asphalt mixtures with RCA. The
Many studies on the use of steel slag in asphalt pavement have results indicated that the dynamic and resilient modulus decreased
been conducted. In two separate studies by Khan and Wahhab [13] with an increase in the concentration of RCA, and moisture
and Bagampadde et al. [14], mix durability (resistance to moisture susceptibility and rutting increased. Thus, a certain amount of
and fatigue) was improved when coarse slag aggregates were sup- RCA in hot mix asphalt (HMA) is acceptable for low-volume roads
plemented with limestone ller and ne aggregates. [21].
M. Arabani, A.R. Azarhoosh / Construction and Building Materials 35 (2012) 17 3
In the current study, six asphalt concrete mixtures were investigated. The rst Table 5
mixture was an asphalt concrete mixture containing 100% dacite aggregates and Gradation of aggregates used in the present study.
was labelled as the control mix. Alternatively, in the other mixtures, steel slag
Sieve (mm) 19 12.5 4.75 2.36 0.3 0.075
and RCA were used as aggregates. A detailed description of the replacements is
shown in Table 7. To prepare the samples, the asphalt binder and the aggregate Lowerupper limits 100 90100 4474 2858 521 210
were heated separately, combined and compacted. The asphalt concrete mixture Passing (%) 100 95 59 43 13 6
was based on the Marshall mix design. In the Marshall method, aggregates are
heated to 160170 C for 24 h and are combined with asphalt binder at 135 C. Fi-
nally, HMA briquettes with a diameter and height of 101.6 mm and 6575 mm
were produced by Marshall hammer compaction (75 blows) [22]. Two series of mation of the sample was measured by two linear variable differ-
Marshall specimens were fabricated. The rst series of specimens contained various ential transformers (LVDTs) positioned at 180 [25].
concentrations of binder to determine the optimal binder content. The second series The dynamic creep test was conducted by applying a dynamic
was produced at the optimal binder content to evaluate the HMA mechanistic prop-
erties. For each aggregate blend and asphalt binder content, at least three samples
stress of 100 kPa for 1 h at 40 C. In each test, the sides of the spec-
were produced to determine the reproducibility of the results [23]. imen were capped, and the sample was placed in the loading ma-
chine under a conditioning stress of 10 kPa for 600 s. Next, the
conditioning stress was removed, and a stress of 100 kPa was ap-
4. Testing program plied for 2000 cycles, which included a 1-s loading period and a
1-s resting period.
4.1. Marshall stability and ow test
Table 3
The chemical composition of the raw materials.
Aggregate type SiO2 Fe2O3 Al2O3 CaO MgO TiO2 K2O Na2O FeO P2O5 H2O
Dacite 65.7 2.1 15.6 3.6 2.5 2 3.7 2.1 1.1
Steel slag 14.4 5.2 1.35 50.5 4.5 0.5 14.8 1.1
4 M. Arabani, A.R. Azarhoosh / Construction and Building Materials 35 (2012) 17
Table 6
The physical properties of the aggregates.
Table 7
The content of the aggregate blends.
Mixture Coarse aggregates (57%) (CA) Fine aggregates (37%) (FA) Filler (6%)
Control mix:dacite Dacite Dacite Dacite
CA:RCA RCA Dacite Dacite
FA:RCA Dacite RCA Dacite
CA:SS Steel slag Dacite Dacite
FA:SS Dacite Steel slag Dacite
CA:SS + FA:RCA Steel slag RCA Dacite
Based on the test data, the resilient modulus and Poisson ratios exible pavements. Therefore, the fatigue behaviour of HMA mix-
were computed according to the following equations: tures has been intensively studied for many years [28].
The fatigue process occurs in three distinct stages. For instance,
Pt 0:27 failure and fatigue cracking begin in step 1, and cracks spread to
MR 1
t DH other areas and reduce pavement resistance in step 2. Lastly, in
step 3, sudden failure of the pavement is observed [29]. The fatigue
3:59DH life of an asphalt specimen is related to the tensile strain in the
t 0:27 2 loaded specimen. Even at different temperatures and loading rates,
DV
the fatigue lifetime is related to the tensile strain (et) and can be
where P is the repeated load (N), T is the specimen thickness (mm), expressed by the following equation:
DH is the recoverable horizontal deformation (mm) and DV is the n
1
recoverable vertical deformation (mm). The resilient modulus was Nf A 3
determined according to ASTM D4123, and a Poisson ratio of 0.35 et
was applied. where Nf is the number of load applications before failure occurs
and the value of the exponent n is typically equal to 4 [30]. Fatigue
tests were carried out in both controlled strain mode and controlled
4.4. Indirect tensile fatigue tests (ITFTs)
stress mode. In controlled strain mode, the strain was maintained
by decreasing the stress on the sample. In controlled stress mode,
Fatigue cracking is one of the three major distresses (fatigue
the stress was held constant to increase the strain within the sam-
cracking, low-temperature cracking and rutting) of exible pave-
ple [31]. The fatigue life of the specimens was measured with a Not-
ments. Fatigue cracking is caused primarily by repeated trafc
tingham asphalt tester (NAT) in constant stress mode by applying
loading and can lead to a signicant reduction in the serviceability
repeated loads with a xed amplitude along the diametrical axis
of exible pavements. The cracking resistance of hot-mix asphalt
of the specimen. The repeated load consisted of 0.1 s of loading
(HMA) mixtures is directly related to the fatigue performance of
and 0.4 s of rest, and cylindrical specimens with a diameter, height
and air void content of 101.6 mm, 40 mm and 4% were tested at
25 C, respectively.
Table 8
Marshall design results.
FA:RCA
CA:RCA
FA:SS
CA:SS
FA:RCA+CA:SS
FA:RCA
CA:RCA
FA:SS
CA:SS
FA:RCA+CA:SS
Table 9
Mixtures The result of dynamic creep test.
2000 2500
0 2000
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Cycles 1500
1000
FA:RCA FA:SS Control CA:RCA CA:SS FA:RCA+CA:SS
500
Fig. 4. Number of cycles versus permanent deformation.
0
Control
CA:RCA
FA:RCA
FA:SS
CA:SS
FA:RCA+CA:SS
tures are shown in Fig. 3. As shown in the gures, when RCA was
used as a ne aggregate (FA) and steel slag was used as a ne/
Mixtures
course aggregate (CA), the Marshall stability of the material in-
creased and the ow decreased. Specically, the Marshall stability
of the mixture is increased by 34.4% in the FA:RCA + CA:SS mixture. Fig. 5. The indirect tensile resilient modulus of the mixtures.
6 M. Arabani, A.R. Azarhoosh / Construction and Building Materials 35 (2012) 17
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