Performance of crumb rubber asphalt pavements through accelerated loading

This paper presents the overall performance of hot mix asphalt mixtures containing crumb rubber modified (CRM) binders as compared to similar mixes with conventional binder under accelerated loading and to determine the best location of hot mix asphalt mixture containing CRM binder in pavement structure. Three test lanes were constructed at the Louisiana Pavement Research Facility. The first lane consisted of asphalt rubber HMA (AR-HMA) wearing course, conventional HMA binder course and conventional base course. The second test lane consisted of conventional HMA wearing course and conventional binder course, and AR-HMA base course. The third test lane was the control one and consisted of conventional mixes in the wearing course, binder course, and base course. The performance evaluation measured included rut depth and laboratory mixture performance tests. In general, the test lane containing AR-HMA mix in the wearing course showed similar rut depth, and pavement stiffness to the control test lane (with conventional mixtures), whereas, the lane containing AR-HMA mix in the base course had an improved rut resistance as compared to the control lane.