Resilient Modulus Development of Aggregate Base and Subbase Containing Recycled Bituminous and Concrete for 2002 Design Guide and Mn/Pave Pavement Design

The primary objective of this study was to quantify stiffness (resilient modulus) of aggregate base containing recycled asphalt and concrete pavements. After a survey of other state's specifications and implementation guidelines, Minnesota recycling projects were selected based on the availability of laboratory resilient modulus (MR) tests and field measurements from FWD. The projects were County State Aid Highway 3, Trunk Highway 23 and Trunk Highway 200. Based on the results of a parametric study, it was found that traditional peak-based analysis of FWD data can lead to significant errors in elastostatic backcalculation. A procedure for extracting the static response of the pavement was formulated and implemented in a software package called GopherCalc. Laboratory resilient modulus measurements were compared with moduli backcalculated from the FWD data. The FWD data was analyzed using conventional (peak-based) and modified (FRF-based) elastostatic backcalculation (Evercalc) as well as a simplified mechanistic empirical model called Yonapave. Laboratory values from sequences in the MR protocol that produced a similar state-of-stress were used. Additionally, a seasonal analysis of FWD test data revealed a significant increase in stiffness when the pavement is in the frozen state.