A new procedure to determine the rheological properties of RAP binder and corresponding bituminous blends

- Develop a new approach to estimate the properties of RAP binder avoiding extraction.
- Perform Dynamic Shear Rheometer tests on mortars containing RAP.
- Back-calculate the rheological properties of bituminous blends from mortars.
- Validate the procedure using an artificial RAP source.

In this paper, a new and simple approach to estimate the rheological properties of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) binder is proposed to overcome the limitations of the conventional extraction procedure. This method is based on Dynamic Shear Rheometer tests performed on mortars composed of RAP fine fraction and virgin binder, together with a new back-calculation solution. The properties of the bituminous blends of virgin and RAP binders are obtained with a modified Nielsen model. The Voigt model is then successfully used to estimate complex modulus and phase angle of the RAP binder from the properties of the back-calculated binder blend. This procedure would prevent the need of RAP binder extractions to determine its properties, which is time-consuming and might modify the actual binder characteristics.