Healing response of cold recycled asphalt mixtures with electric arc furnace slag under microwave heating and re-compaction

The objective of the present paper is the assessment of the healing efficiency of a thermomechanical treatment (microwave heating and re-compaction) on cold recycled asphalt mixtures. The asphalt mixture specimens were fabricated with different electric arc furnace slag (EAFS) contents to improve the mixtures' microwave susceptibility. The healing response was then assessed in terms of recovery of their initial indirect tensile strength. Furthermore, statistical analysis was conducted by means of a three-way analysis of variance to determine the influence of temperature, re-compaction energy, and EAFS content on the healing capability of the mixtures. Although re-compaction and heating in the ranges studied do not themselves cause healing, the combination of both produced excellent healing performance. The optimal content of EAFS was established at 5% of EAFS over the weight of the asphalt mixture.