Recycled materials for road construction – performance prediction based on full-scale accelerated testing

One step towards reducing construction and industrial wastes (CIW) is to enhance their utilisation in road construction. Prior to their implementation, it is essential to evaluate their mechanical properties to ensure suitability and establish design guidelines. With this objective, four CIW materials were tested using repeated load triaxial (RLT) equipment to evaluate the materials’ functional properties, namely stiffness (Mr) and permanent deformation (PD) characteristics. In addition, full-scale accelerated pavement tests (APTs) were conducted where the four CIW materials were used as the subbase layer instead of traditional materials. Thereafter, a mechanistic–empirical (ME) pavement design and performance prediction method was used to predict their APT performances based on the RLT testing parameters. It was found that the ME performance method can adequately predict the CIW´s rutting development. The approach presented here, therefore, can facilitate the development of design guidelines and the increased utilisation of CIW-based materials in road construction projects.