Thermal compaction as an alternative approach for full-RAP base layer construction

Abstract The use of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) in road base layers represents a solution to reduce the consumption of natural aggregates. However, the variability of RAP properties poses challenges to its application, particularly regarding mechanical behavior. This study investigates thermal compaction as a strategy to stabilize mixtures composed exclusively of RAP, introducing the concept of a warm base. Repeated load triaxial tests were conducted to evaluate the effects of compaction temperature on permanent deformation (PD) and resilient modulus (RM). The results indicate that increasing the compaction temperature significantly improves the mechanical behavior of RAP, reducing PD by up to 52% at the highest stress level. Additionally, the RM of RAP-M samples increased by approximately 187.13% compared to the maximum value of RAP-F samples and 389.05% compared to the minimum value. This approach enables the application of larger quantities of RAP in pavements, ensuring good structural quality while minimizing the effects of the material’s initial variability.