Comparison of Volumetric Properties and Stability of Bituminous Mixes with Shredded Waste Plastic

Abstract

Sustainable road construction has been increasingly gaining much recognition due to the unendurable conventional pavements. To avoid adverse effects on the environment, ecofriendly road construction is taking attention these days. Waste plastic generated will end up in landfills, incinerated, or recycled. However, in India per capita, plastic consumption is quite less in comparison to the global per capita consumption of plastic. So, the eco-design of asphalt mixture utilizing shredded waste plastic is adopted to recycle and reuse the shredded waste plastic in flexible pavements. This paper compared the volumetric properties and stability of asphalt mixes prepared with shredded waste plastic. Conventional bitumen such as VG30, VG40, and polymer-modified bitumen PMB40 for two aggregate gradations with a Nominal Maximum Aggregate Size (NMAS) of 25 mm and 19 mm abbreviated as G1 and G2, respectively, was used to prepare the mixes. Three dosages of waste plastic (4%, 6%, and 8%) to the weight of optimum binder content (OBC) were added, by dry mixing method, to VG30 bituminous mixes. A total of 12 different types of mixes were prepared and tested for volumetric properties and stability. It was observed that with the increase in dosage of waste plastic, volumetric properties such as air void (AV) and Voids in Mineral Aggregate (VMA) increased while the density decreased. The results showed that incorporating shredded waste plastic in the mix improved the Marshall Stability (MS) and stiffness of the mix which is also environmentally friendly. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.