INSTRUCTORS:
Ellie H. Fini, Ph.D., P.E.
Hassan Tabatabaee, Ph.D.

Course Length:  90 minutes

See all webinars related to Pavement.

Purpose and Background

Departments of transportation are promoting the use of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) as a complementary source of asphalt and mineral aggregates. Due to the lower price of RAP compared to virgin materials, the use of RAP can reduce pavement construction cost. However, since the asphalt binder in RAP has been oxidized during its prior service life, its incorporation can negatively impact pavement life. Thus, most states limit their RAP content to 20%. Introduction of rejuvenators has shown to be promising to allow raising the limit to 50% RAP in the pavement without compromising performance, leading to large savings in construction cost.

This webinar discusses the significance of using recycled asphalt binder in new construction not only to reduce construction cost but also to save natural resources and reduce pavement carbon foot print while ensuring high quality pavement. The first part provides an overview and impact of pavement recycling on construction cost, carbon footprint and overall sustainability of pavements. The second part will discuss the merits of application of rejuvenators on restoring recycled binder properties. The webinar will focus on the rejuvenation of old asphalt as well as production and construction of RAP incorporated asphalt mixtures.

Primary Topics of Discussion

• Rejuvenators classification and materials selection
• Application methods and best practices of recycled asphalt pavement
• Methods for Determination of efficiency and effectiveness of asphalt rejuvenation

Learning Outcomes

• Understand basic processes from oxidation to recycling and rejuvenation
• Learn about the rejuvenation mechanisms and selection criteria with extent of recycling
• Identify critical issues for recycling and rejuvenation process in relation to performance of the produced high RAP asphalt mixture
• Identify critical issues for rejuvenation dosage and application methods prior to mixture preparation
• Understand the relationship between true rejuvenation and softening effect and potential consequences on pavement performance
• Learn the role of specifications and characterization methods in terms of improving recycling and rejuvenation criteria in lieu of their effect on quality of constructed pavements in presence of RAP

Webinar Benefits

• Distinguish practical tips to avoid costly errors for the contractors and agencies during production and construction of RAP incorporated asphalt pavements
• Learn the critical issues and challenges related to recycling and the trade-offs between quality of constructed asphalt pavements and RAP content with and without rejuvenators
• Find out the commonly experienced issues by contractors during the construction of high RAP asphalt pavements
• Examine effectiveness of rejuvenation practices in terms of cost and resource saving
• Discuss the relationship between true rejuvenation and softening effect in pavement recycling
• Learn best practices for the production and construction of high RAP mixtures to improve quality and quantity of utilized RAP