Estimation of rheological properties of RAP binder

The low-temperature rheological properties of binders in the recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) material without the damaging effects of solvent extractions were analyzed. The developed procedure is based on testing of bitumen-RAP mortars produced by mixing the fresh (virgin) binder with RAP material smaller than # 8 sieve. Different mortars were prepared, containing RAP material passing the #8 sieve and 15% by weight of fresh binder. Low temperature properties of these mortars were investigated by using the bending beam rheometer (BBR) test procedure that is specially modified for testing of the RAP mortars. The modification involved the development of a new kind of mold and different testing parameters. The RAP material used in the experimental study were both extracted from real reclaimed pavement and prepared in the laboratory, by aging binder through repeated PAV cycles. The results indicate the new procedure can capture the effect of aged properties of bitumen in the RAP and can be used to estimate the PG low temperature grade of the blended binder. Although data is limited in size, the modification of the BBR appears to be simple and provide repeatable data.