2025 Volume 16 Article ID: PP3958
Conventional mix design methods like Marshall and Superpave may result in recycled asphalt mixtures with insufficient binder content, potentially leading to premature cracking and pavement deterioration. To investigate these concerns, recycled asphalt concrete (RAC) mixtures were produced using 0%, 20%, 40%, and 60% reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), with a 0%RAP mixture serving as the control group. Test results demonstrate that increasing virgin asphalt content enhances the crack resistance of RAC. The cracking tolerance resistance of 60%RAP mixtures remained higher than that of the control group, indicating that an additional 0.25% of virgin asphalt cement might be necessary to compensate for the potential hardening effect of aged binders within the RAP. To improve RAC performance and accommodate the increased binder content, it is recommended to adjust the voids filled asphalt from 65-75% to 65-80%, and maintain an asphalt film thickness of at least 8 micrometers.
