Life Cycle Costs Analysis of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) Under Future Climate

Abstract

Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) has received wide application in asphalt pavement construction and maintenance and it has shown cost-effectiveness over virgin hot mix asphalt (HMA). HMA with a high content of reclaimed asphalt (RA) (e.g., 40%) is sometimes used in practice, however, it may have significant adverse effects on the life cycle performance and related costs. In particular, challenges may arise as the life cycle performance of RAP is also affected by local climatic conditions. Thus, it is important to investigate whether it is still economic to use RAP under future local climate, with consideration of life cycle performance. A case study was conducted for various road structures on Interstate 95 (I-95) in New Hampshire (NH), USA for the investigation. The case study utilized dynamic modulus testing results for local virgin HMA and HMA with 40% RA (as major material alternatives) to predict life cycle performance of the selected pavement structures, considering downscaled future climates. Then, a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) was considered to estimate and compare the life cycle cash flow of the investigated road structures. Responsive maintenance (overlay) and effectiveness were also considered in this study. It was found that using 40% RA in HMA can reduce agency costs by up to approximately 18% under the 2020–2040 predicted climate and NH should consider this practice under predicted future climate to reduce agency costs.

Implementing life cycle cost analysis in road engineering: A critical review on methodological framework choices

“…In this stage, the condition of the surface layer is of great importance as the rolling resistance can highly affect the fuel costs. Road durability and performance are affected by climatic factors [51,52] (e.g. temperature) and human-induced activities (e.g.…”

European National Road Authorities and Circular Economy: An Insight into Their Approaches

“…Under the light of CE and for the pavement engineering sector, the recycling of reclaimed asphalt can be characterized as one of the most circular practices. In other words, asphalt recycling is the most common type of recycling that takes place within the road engineering industry [8,54] and can deliver significant environmental and economic benefits. NRAs also incorporate into asphalt pavements other recyclable materials such as steel slag, concrete, glass, etc., but RA is the most common choice amongst them due to the fact that it can be recycled into pavement that performs as well as, or even better than, pavements made of all-virgin materials [55,56].…”

Environmental Impact Assessment of Different Warm Mix Asphalts

“…Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a popular methodology in various fields of research, due to the fact that it analyses the impact on the environment for a product, process, service or activity by recognizing and evaluating the input-output data used by the system and providing the output data in a life cycle perspective [9,10]. In the field of roads, the research has been carried out mainly to assess the environmental impact of HMA [2,5,8,11] and HMA containing RAP [12][13][14]. Due to the growing interest in the production of asphalt mixtures at low temperatures in order to protect the environment, the researchers also addressed the subject of WMA and their comparison with HMA, produced at usual temperatures.…”

“…There are several techniques used to produce WMA such as foaming techniques, organic additive techniques and chemical additive techniques [18]. Several foaming techniques, such as water-based processes [19,20] and water-containing additives [14][15][16] are mentioned in the specialized literature. The purpose of these techniques is to reduce the viscosity of the binder during the preparation and laying of the asphalt mixture [21].…”