ABSTRACT
Polymer modified bitumen (PMB) with a high polymer content demonstrated its benefits for high bearing asphalt applications such as runways and taxiways at airports. Runway 18R/36L at Schiphol airport (Amsterdam) was constructed according to this principle in 2002. The asphalt construction for this runway consists of several layers of polymer modified asphalt (PMA). For major maintenance in 2021 about 600,000 m2 of the runway and surrounding pavements were replaced with 150,000 tons of new asphalt containing 60% recycled asphalt (RAP) originating from the old PMA asphalt layers.
The use of RAP is common practice in the Netherlands, especially for base and bind layers. New techniques with the pre-treatment of RAP material makes it possible to use the RAP in surface courses as well without quality issues. Furthermore, several studies show that the use of RAP from the old PMA is beneficial for a new asphalt layer.
To maintain the high quality of the PMA containing RAP, strict requirements are needed for the PMB used. Because of changes in bitumen production and crude sources at refineries it has become more difficult to maintain the quality of such binders. For the mentioned project an extensive quality control of the PMB production has been established including selection of the virgin base binder. This quality control provides an optimal homogenous quality of the PMB for the entire project.
For the entire rehabilitation project approximately 3,000 tons of PMB was produced and successfully applied in the new asphalts pavements within a period of 13 weeks. This paper provides an advanced quality control methodology and demonstrates this for an actual runway project in the Netherlands.
