Mechanical and hydraulic performance of porous asphalt concrete containing recycled PET plastic granule for permeable pavements
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Abstract
This research examines the mechanical and hydraulic properties of porous asphalt concrete (PAC) modified with recycled polyethylene terephthalate granules (G-PET) to enhance the performance of permeable pavement materials. Marshall specimens of the mixture containing various percentages of G-PET of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 40% (by weight of asphalt binder) were subjected to Marshall stability, indirect tensile strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, Cantabro loss, draindown, moisture damage, and permeability tests. The experimental results show that adding G-PET improves pore uniformity, thereby increasing permeability. However, excessive G-PET addition led to higher porosity and reduced stiffness due to particle agglomeration and weak interfacial bonding of the mixture. Quantitative results showed that the 10% G-PET mixture provided the most favorable balance, meeting volumetric, mechanical, and permeability criteria within functional specifications for permeable pavements. This finding fills a gap in sustainable pavement design by developing an experimentally validated method to incorporate recycled plastics into porous asphalt mixes, thereby supporting circular-economy goals for infrastructure materials.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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