EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF ASPHALT CONCRETE CONTAINING RECLAIMED ASPHALT PAVEMENT MIXTURES

Asphalt pavement is made of coarse aggregates, sand, filler, and bitumen. It is a heterogeneous material. Bitumen is a material of the mix that holds the asphalt pavement mix together and gives it flexibility and the ability to heal. But over time, the environment (oxygen, UV light, moisture, etc.) causes bitumen to age and lose its volatile chemical compounds. This makes it brittle and prone to cracking, which can cause asphalt pavement to fail too soon. But the effects of bitumen ageing can be reversed. The bitumen rejuvenator can be used to reverse the effects of bitumen ageing by restoring the lost properties, such as chemical composition, physical properties, and rheological properties. Rejuvenating bitumen depends a lot on the type and amount of rejuvenator used. In industry, bitumen with a high penetration level (70/100 or higher) is often used to soften bitumen that has hardened over time. General types of rejuvenators include bio-based rejuvenators that are either pure or made from waste streams, chemically modified rejuvenators, and maltene-rich fractions made during the oil refining process. The recommended dosage ranges from 2% to 20% by weight of bitumen, depending on the type of rejuvenator and the properties of the old bitumen (e.g., ageing level)