Technical evaluation of using reclaimed asphalt pavement materials as filler in hot mix asphalt

Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is a valuable material that can be recycled and reused in road engineering to reduce environmental impacts and economic costs. Although numerous studies have investigated RAP content in hot mix asphalt (HMA), the use of RAP as a filler has not been explored. Therefor...

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Main Authors: Danyal Shirvani, Alireza Sarkar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Results in Engineering
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025021206
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author Danyal Shirvani
Alireza Sarkar
author_facet Danyal Shirvani
Alireza Sarkar
author_sort Danyal Shirvani
collection DOAJ
description Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is a valuable material that can be recycled and reused in road engineering to reduce environmental impacts and economic costs. Although numerous studies have investigated RAP content in hot mix asphalt (HMA), the use of RAP as a filler has not been explored. Therefore, this study presents a new approach by investigating the use of RAP as filler in HMA, which aims to increase the recycling of RAP in HMA and improve mixture performance. The morphological and chemical properties of reclaimed asphalt pavement filler (RAPF) were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). To evaluate the optimal method of incorporating RAPF into the HMA, this filler was added to the mixture in two ways: (1) adding bitumen to the mixture of aggregates and RAPF, and (2) adding RAPF to the mixture of bitumen and aggregates. In both methods, RAPF fully replaces the mineral filler with the same proportion used in the control mixture. Mechanical properties of mixtures were evaluated using semi-circular bending, indirect tensile fatigue, Hamburg wheel tracking and modified Lottman tests. Results indicated that RAPF in the first method notably enhanced mixture performance at low and intermediate temperatures, increasing fracture energy by 43 %, peak load and toughness by 12 %, and reducing stiffness by 13 %. Fatigue life increased by 50 %, fatigue crack propagation rate decreased, and tensile strength ratio improved by 2 %, indicating better moisture resistance. However, RAPF showed no significant effect on rutting resistance. These findings suggest RAPF as a promising alternative to mineral fillers.
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spelling doaj-art-6e9f0fb006d7423b8a180aa5b7effbe72025-08-20T02:40:48ZengElsevierResults in Engineering2590-12302025-09-012710604810.1016/j.rineng.2025.106048Technical evaluation of using reclaimed asphalt pavement materials as filler in hot mix asphaltDanyal Shirvani0Alireza Sarkar1Department of Civil Engineering, SR.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, IranCorresponding author.; Department of Civil Engineering, SR.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, IranReclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is a valuable material that can be recycled and reused in road engineering to reduce environmental impacts and economic costs. Although numerous studies have investigated RAP content in hot mix asphalt (HMA), the use of RAP as a filler has not been explored. Therefore, this study presents a new approach by investigating the use of RAP as filler in HMA, which aims to increase the recycling of RAP in HMA and improve mixture performance. The morphological and chemical properties of reclaimed asphalt pavement filler (RAPF) were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). To evaluate the optimal method of incorporating RAPF into the HMA, this filler was added to the mixture in two ways: (1) adding bitumen to the mixture of aggregates and RAPF, and (2) adding RAPF to the mixture of bitumen and aggregates. In both methods, RAPF fully replaces the mineral filler with the same proportion used in the control mixture. Mechanical properties of mixtures were evaluated using semi-circular bending, indirect tensile fatigue, Hamburg wheel tracking and modified Lottman tests. Results indicated that RAPF in the first method notably enhanced mixture performance at low and intermediate temperatures, increasing fracture energy by 43 %, peak load and toughness by 12 %, and reducing stiffness by 13 %. Fatigue life increased by 50 %, fatigue crack propagation rate decreased, and tensile strength ratio improved by 2 %, indicating better moisture resistance. However, RAPF showed no significant effect on rutting resistance. These findings suggest RAPF as a promising alternative to mineral fillers.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025021206Reclaimed asphalt pavement fillerReclaimed asphalt pavementSemi-circular bendingIndirect tensile fatigueFracture energy
spellingShingle Danyal Shirvani
Alireza Sarkar
Technical evaluation of using reclaimed asphalt pavement materials as filler in hot mix asphalt
Results in Engineering
Reclaimed asphalt pavement filler
Reclaimed asphalt pavement
Semi-circular bending
Indirect tensile fatigue
Fracture energy
title Technical evaluation of using reclaimed asphalt pavement materials as filler in hot mix asphalt
title_full Technical evaluation of using reclaimed asphalt pavement materials as filler in hot mix asphalt
title_fullStr Technical evaluation of using reclaimed asphalt pavement materials as filler in hot mix asphalt
title_full_unstemmed Technical evaluation of using reclaimed asphalt pavement materials as filler in hot mix asphalt
title_short Technical evaluation of using reclaimed asphalt pavement materials as filler in hot mix asphalt
title_sort technical evaluation of using reclaimed asphalt pavement materials as filler in hot mix asphalt
topic Reclaimed asphalt pavement filler
Reclaimed asphalt pavement
Semi-circular bending
Indirect tensile fatigue
Fracture energy
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025021206
work_keys_str_mv AT danyalshirvani technicalevaluationofusingreclaimedasphaltpavementmaterialsasfillerinhotmixasphalt
AT alirezasarkar technicalevaluationofusingreclaimedasphaltpavementmaterialsasfillerinhotmixasphalt