Experimental Investigation on the Effect of Rejuvenator on the Use of a High Amount of Recycled Asphalt Binder

Due to economic and environmental benefits, Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) has been commonly used in the asphalt pavement construction. However, the capability of existed mixing plants to incorporate a high percentage of RAP restrict the use of a high RA content. In this study, the possibility of recycling a RA binder content of 80% is experimentally investigated. First, an unmodified 50/70 binder is selected as the reference material; then, an extracted RA binder was blended with the optimal rejuvenator, and the rejuvenator content determined based on the penetration test to restore the original penetration value close to the reference material. Next, both materials are artificially aged to short- and long-term aging conditions. Rheological tests are performed with the Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) and the Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR). Finally, the experimental results are used to evaluate the performance property of virgin and rejuvenated asphalt binders under different aging levels. Results indicate that the properties of the blend of RA and virgin binder can be only partially restored by the action of the rejuvenator.