Evaluation of Conventional and Warm Mix Asphalt Mixtures with Crumb Rubber: Mechanical Performance and Field Simulations

Pavement construction increasingly focuses on enhancing sustainability while maintaining durability and cost-effectiveness. Warm mix asphalt (WMA) technology and the incorporation of crumb rubber (CR) are approaches that aim to reduce environmental effects and extend pavement life. This study compares four asphalt mixtures: (1) hot mix asphalt (HMA); (2) WMA; (3) CR–HMA; and (4) CR–WMA, evaluating their mechanical performance, environmental effects, and life cycle costs. Mechanical tests revealed that CR mixtures, with CR–HMA offering the highest rutting resistance and CR–WMA providing the highest fatigue resistance, offered superior performance overall, making them highly durable. However, these benefits come with higher cradle-to-construction effects (A1–A5), mainly because of the additional processing required for CR. WMA technology, used in both conventional and rubber mixtures, significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, highlighting its potential for sustainable pavement solutions. Despite higher initial costs, CR–WMA mixtures demonstrated substantial long-term savings because of their extended lifespan and reduced maintenance requirements. WMA was identified as the most cost-effective option, providing a balanced solution between sustainability, performance, and cost. While WMA and CR technologies have been individually investigated, the novelty of this study lies in its holistic, multicriteria comparison of four distinct asphalt mixtures (HMA, WMA, CR–HMA, and CR–WMA) by concurrently evaluating their detailed mechanical performance, predictive field behavior, life cycle environmental effects, and life cycle costs. This comprehensive assessment, which emphasizes evaluating mixtures across their life cycle, offers practical guidance for optimizing material selection to achieve a nuanced balance between environmental, economic, and performance objectives in pavement construction.