Performance of Sustainable Semi-Rigid Pavements: Optimizing High-Content Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement with Rejuvenators and Novel Grout Formulations

TL;DR

This study shows how to create sustainable roads using 100% recycled asphalt by optimizing rejuvenators and special grout mixtures.

Contribution

The study identifies strong interaction effects between rejuvenators and grout types that enable technically viable 100% RAP pavements.

Findings

Increasing RAP content significantly reduced pavement performance metrics.

The chemical rejuvenator mitigated performance losses, especially at higher RAP contents.

Grout G3, with a high-reactivity mineral additive, enabled 100% RAP mixtures to regain over 70% of the strength of virgin mixtures.

Abstract

Achieving sustainable pavement construction through high-content Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) is a critical industry goal, but its implementation is frequently challenged by the reduced mechanical performance and durability inherent in such mixtures. This study evaluates the performance of semi-rigid pavements with RAP from 0% to 100%, a chemical rejuvenator, and four novel cementitious grout formulations (G1–G4). A comprehensive experimental program examined compressive strength, flexural strength, rutting resistance, fatigue life, and moisture sensitivity. Statistical analysis revealed that increasing RAP content significantly reduced all performance metrics. However, the primary innovation of this work lies in identifying strong interaction effects between key variables. The chemical rejuvenator effectively mitigated performance losses, with its benefits most pronounced at higher RAP contents (p ≤ 0.003). Among the Gi types, G3, containing a proprietary high-reactivity mineral additive, consistently achieved superior results; for instance, the R100-J-G3 regained over 70% strength of the virgin control mix (R0-NJ-G3). Notably, the interaction between RAP content and grout type (p ≤ 0.015) revealed that G3’s performance increased with RAP content, demonstrating its pivotal role in enabling technically viable 100% RAP mixtures. These findings underscore that the successful use of high-content RAP depends not just on individual components but on the optimized synergy between rejuvenator and grout selection, offering a validated pathway for technically viable pavements containing 100% RAP, reducing reliance on virgin materials and lowering environmental impact.

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