Published Paper Details:

A robust road network plays a crucial role in accelerating economic growth by connecting remote regions, enhancing access to markets, schools, and healthcare services, and fostering trade and investment in less developed areas. Roads also enable efficient intermodal transportation by linking key infrastructure such as airports, railway stations, and seaports. However, conventional bituminous surfacing of flexible pavements is energy-intensive, involving the production of bituminous binder from crude oil, drying of aggregates, and manufacturing of the asphalt mix at a hot mix plant (HMP). Hot mix recycling offers an efficient alternative by blending reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) with new aggregates and, in some cases, recycling agents to produce hot mix asphalt. When properly designed, these recycled mixtures can match or even exceed the performance of conventional asphalt mixes. Recycling or rejuvenating agents--organic compounds selected for their chemical and physical properties--are used to restore the aged asphalt to its desired specifications.