Evaluation of rutting potential and skid resistance of hot mix asphalt incorporating electric arc furnace steel slag and copper mine tailing

Abstract

In order to promote the use of waste materials in road construction, this paper presents the laboratory results of a study investigating the rutting potential and skid resistance of hot mix asphalt incorporating electric arc furnace (EAF) steel slag and copper mine tailings. To achieve this objective, four different mixes incorporating copper mine tailings and EAF steel slag in different proportions are investigated. The aggregates are blended with the optimum bitumen content of PG(76-22) and 80/100 bitumen binders. The rutting potential of all the mixes is evaluated by the asphalt pavement analyzer (APA), while the skid resistance is measured by the British Pendulum Skid Resistance Tester. The results show that the mix with 20% copper mine tailing and 80% EAF steel slag has the highest skid number, mean texture depth and the least rut depth. It is also observed that the rate of rutting decreased with loading cycles and 70 to 80% of the rut depth is attained at 4000 cycles using the APA.