Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123384

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Possibility of incorporating waste plastic film flakes into warm-mix

asphalt as a bitumen extender
Arminda Almeida a,b,⇑, Silvino Capitão c,d, Carla Estanqueiro a, Luís Picado-Santosc d
a
Universidade de Coimbra, Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Rua Luís Reis Santos, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
b
CITTA Centro de Investigação do Território, Transportes e Ambiente, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
c
Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra, Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra, Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Rua Pedro Nunes, 3030-199 Coimbra, Portugal
d
CERIS, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal

h i g h l i g h t s g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t

A WMA produced at 100 °C and Rela ve performance of asphalt mixtures

PLASTIC FROM URBAN WASTE
incorporating waste plastic film flakes (with and without plas
was evaluated.
Water sens

Waste plastic has a positive effect on ITSR
100%
stiffness and rutting resistance. Waste
FILM Plas
FLAKES Film Flakes
80%

Waste plastic slightly decreases R ng resistance,
WTSair
60%
Ease of laying
40%
fatigue resistance. 20%
0%

WMA incorporating waste plastic is a
WMA addi ve (wax) Fa e resistance,
promising solution for low- ε6
ffness
WMA mixed
intermediate volume roads.
@100°C Fa e resistance,
ε4
HMA_ HMA_ WMA_ WMA_

Sasobit-Redux® Bitumen

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A warm-mix asphalt (WMA) produced at 100 °C and incorporating waste plastic film flakes was evalu-
Received 6 January 2021 ated. The investigation comprised two stages analysing the WMA and a conventional HMA with the same
Received in revised form 25 March 2021 plastic material. The first stage established the WMA composition. The second stage comprised perfor-
Accepted 13 April 2021
mance evaluation, for which the incorporation of plastic slightly increased stiffness, and fatigue resis-
Available online 28 April 2021
tance was similar for both mixtures. WMA with plastic was the worst in the uniaxial compression test
and the best in the wheel-tracking test. The conclusion is that WMA incorporating waste plastic is a
Keywords:
promising solution for low to intermediate traffic volume road infrastructures.
Warm-mix asphalt
Plastic film
Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Urban waste
Circular economy
Water sensitivity
Mechanical performance

1. Introduction

In an increasingly environmentally conscious world, the asphalt

⇑ Corresponding author at: Universidade de Coimbra, Departamento de Engen-
haria Civil, Rua Luís Reis Santos, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal.
E-mail addresses: arminda@dec.uc.pt (A. Almeida), capitao@isec.pt (S. Capitão),
uc2007107277@student.uc.pt (C. Estanqueiro), luispicadosantos@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
(L. Picado-Santosc).
industry, like so many others, has been developing techniques to
enhance asphalt mixtures sustainability by reducing energy con-
sumption, conserving natural resources, and helping waste man-
agement. These techniques can range from materials recycling
[1–5] (reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), waste tyre rubber, waste
plastic, waste cooking oil, furnace slag, jet grouting waste, among

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123384
0950-0618/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A. Almeida, S. Capitão, C. Estanqueiro et al.
others) to production temperature reduction (warm, half-warm
and cold-mix asphalt). Sometimes more than one technique is con-
sidered with extra environmental benefits as mentioned below:
100% RAP, waste plastic and waste cooking oil [6]; warm mix
asphalt (WMA) and RAP [7–11]; WMA and electric arc furnace slag
[12,13]; WMA and waste tyre rubber [14]; WMA, RAP and waste
tyre rubber [15]; WMA, RAP and steel slab aggregates [16]. An
extensive amount of research concerning WMA exists [17], includ-
ing long-term performance studies [18]. Also, the application of
WMA in road pavements has been increasing [19]. The lower pro-
duction temperature of WMA by comparison with hot-mix asphalt
(HMA) is due to a set of three technologies, namely chemical addi-
tives, organic (waxes) additives and foaming processes. This tem-
perature reduction brings substantial benefits [17,20], which
reduces fuel and energy use and, consequently, the carbon foot-
print. Wu et al. [18] stated that using WMA technologies may
reduce CO2 emissions by around 70% on average compared with
HMA. It depends on the WMA type, production temperatures,
and fuel type. The Advera additive resulted in the highest reduction
(89%) of CO2 emissions, considering the production temperatures
of 177 °C for the HMA and 117 °C for the WMA. The lowest reduc-
tion (43%) happened with the Astec Double Barrel Green technol-
ogy and the production temperatures of 158 °C for the HMA and
142 °C for the WMA.
As noted above, WMA has been incorporating several waste
materials (recycling). However, research with waste plastic incor-
poration in this type of asphalt mixtures is still limited. Yu et al.
[21] incorporated waste packing tapes in WMA enhanced with
Fischer-Tropsch wax, using blending and compacting temperatures
of 160 °C and 145 °C. Compared to a similar HMA, the WMA pre-
sented better mechanical properties.
Wu and Montalvo [22] presented a literature review regarding
the incorporation of ten different types of waste plastic into AC
mixtures: polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), high-density poly-
ethylene (HDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethy-
lene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and others
such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), ethylene–vinyl acet-
ate (EVA), polycarbonate (PC), and polyurethane (PU). They con-
cluded that, in general, the waste plastic incorporation improves
performance parameters such as stiffness and rutting and fatigue
resistance. The performance of plastic modified asphalt mixtures
tends to be temperature-dependent. In general, they perform bet-
ter at high-temperature (rutting resistance) and worse at low-level
temperature (resistance to fatigue cracking). However, such per-
formances depend, in particular, on the plastic type and modifica-
tion method. Du et al. [23] studied the low-level temperature
performance of polyethylene (PE) modified asphalt mixtures. They
concluded that the LDPE-modification led to better asphalt perfor-
mance than the HDPE and that the modification by the dry method
also led to better results.
This study aims to combine the WMA with the incorporation of
waste plastic. What concerns the WMA composition, a wax addi-
tive produced by the Fisher-Tropsch process, more precisely the
Sasobit-ReduxÒ, was used. It dissolves in bitumen at temperatures
above 85 °C, while the same temperature for the well-known Saso-
bitÒ is 115 °C [24]. The authors have evaluated this additive’s abil-
ity to reduce WMA production temperature [25] and achieved
positive results at three compaction temperatures (90, 100 and
110 °C). A low melting-temperature plastic was used to facilitate
the waste plastic incorporation, specifically waste plastic film
flakes. The flakes were gathered during the recycling process (after
shredding), whose ultimate aim is pelletisation. Pelletisation of the
recycling process (sorting, shredding and pelletisation) contributes
92.85% for the climate change [26]. The authors incorporated that
plastic in an HMA and compared the obtained results with corre-
sponding values from a non-modified HMA, considering both
2
Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123384
unaged and aged specimens [27]. The plastic incorporation in
unaged specimens resulted in an adequate moisture susceptibility
and workability, better resistance to traffic-compaction and rut-
ting, higher stiffness values and slightly lower fatigue resistance.
The ageing improved every performance parameters of the modi-
fied mixtures.
Hence, the purpose of this study is to continue previous studies
by investigating the possibility of incorporating waste plastic film
flakes into WMA, gaining thus an improved understanding of
waste plastic modified WMA.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
The AC mixture type and the aggregates, the bitumen, and the
waste plastic considered in this study are the same used in the pre-
vious authors’ work [27]. Table 1 gives a concise summary of those
materials. Fig. 1 shows the aggregate gradation as well as the
imposed upper and lower limits. Fig. 2 illustrates the waste of plas-
tic film flakes.
Regarding the WMA additive to achieve the low-level tempera-
ture for production and lay down, this paper uses the organic addi-
tive technology, more precisely the Sasobit-ReduxÒ. As mentioned
above, it is soluble in bitumen at temperatures above 85 °C, a tem-
perature 15 °C below the required by the SasobitÒ. The authors had
already used the Sasobit-ReduxÒ to evaluate its potential to
decrease the WMA production temperature [25]. As in this previ-
ous study, 1.5% of Sasobit-ReduxÒ (by weight of bitumen) was con-
sidered. The additive was added to the bitumen (at 100 °C) and
manually stirred until dissolution is complete. The waste plastic
film flakes were then incorporated, by a dry process, during the
asphalt mixture blending (at 100 °C). Before compaction, the
asphalt mixture was kept at 100 °C in an oven for 30 min to ensure
target compaction temperature and facilitate interaction between
the waste plastic and the bitumen.
2.2. Methods
Stage 1 of the study consisted of a preliminary evaluation of
Marshall properties, water sensitivity and workability of the
WMA. Stage 2 included stiffness assessment, fatigue cracking and
rutting performance evaluation (using both uniaxial dynamic
creep tests and wheel-tracking tests). For comparison purposes,
both HMA and WMA, with plastic (6%) and without plastic (0%),
were considered, totalling four mixtures in comparison. Most of
the HMA test results were obtained in previous work [27], as above
mentioned. Table 2 clarifies what comes from the previous study
and done in this one.
Table 1
Summary of the materials.
AC mixture - Mixture type: dense-graded mixture; AC 14 surf (EN
13108–1 - [28])
- Maximum aggregate size: 16 mm
- Typical pavement layer: surface layer
Aggregates - Gneiss and limestone
Bitumen - 35/50 penetration grade bitumen (EN 12,591 - [29])
- Bitumen content = 5.0% (by weight of mixture)
Plastic - Waste plastic film flakes from the urban waste collection
(including consequently different single-use plastic film
sources)
- Plastic content: 6.0% (by weight of bitumen)
A. Almeida, S. Capitão, C. Estanqueiro et al. Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123384

Fig. 1. Aggregate gradation and imposed limits [27].

2.2.3. Stage 1: Workability

Fig. 2. Waste plastic film flakes [27].
2.2.1. Stage 1: Marshall compression test
To carry out Marshall compression tests, according to EN
12697-34 [30], four cylindrical specimens per mixture (102 mm
in diameter and 64 mm high) were prepared using the impact
compactor by applying 75 blows on each side of the specimen
[31]. Then, void characteristics (air voids content and voids in the
mineral aggregate) and mechanical properties (stability and flow)
were determined.
2.2.2. Stage 1: Water sensitivity
Water sensitivity was evaluated using indirect tensile strength
(ITS) tests [32], at 25 °C, with Marshall specimens prepared in
the laboratory. Calculating the indirect tensile strength ratio (ITSR)
described in EN 12697-12 [33], the water sensitivity was estab-
lished. Four specimens per subset (dry and wet) were considered.
Workability evaluates the suitability of asphalt mixtures to be
produced, transported, laid and compacted [34]. It influences void
characteristics of AC mixtures and, consequently, their perfor-
mance [35]. Moreover, waste plastic incorporation might lead to
workability issues, mainly in low-level temperature mixture pro-
duction. Therefore, to evaluate it, compaction curves of the speci-
mens produced, in the gyratory compaction (GC), for the uniaxial
dynamic creep tests (specimens with 150 mm in diameter and
115 mm high) were drawn and analysed. A total of five specimens
per AC mixture were considered. The compaction curves display
the bulk density (y-axis) variation as a function of the compaction
energy (number of gyrations on the x-axis) on a logarithmic scale,
in which the bulk density is represented as a percentage of the
maximum density of the mixtures. These curves allow us to infer
about AC mixture workability from production to use phase, and
consequently, several parameters have been developed to analyse
it [36–39]. When GC is considered, the standard EN 12697-10
[38] models the compaction curve as defined in Eq. (1):
v ðngÞ ¼ v ð1Þ  k  lnðng Þ ð1Þ
where v ðng Þ is the void content for the number of gyrations ng in
per cent, v ð1Þ is the calculated air content for one gyration in per
cent, and k is the compaction curve slope. From the parameter
v ð1Þ, it is possible to infer the ease of laying the AC mixture [36].
The lower the values, the easier the laying is. The parameter k is
usually considered to assess the compactability of AC mixtures.
Higher k values indicate easier compactability [39]. Also, the com-
paction energy index (CEI) is used to evaluate compactability. CEI
represents the area below the compaction curve from the 8th gyra-
tion to the gyration, in which 92% of the maximum density is
achieved [40]. As CEI decreases, the mixture’s compactability
increases because lesser energy is required to meet the pavement’s

Table 2
Tests carried out in the current study and the previous one used for the sake of comparison.

Previous study [27] Current study

HMA 0% Plastic HMA 6% Plastic HMA 0% Plastic HMA 6% Plastic WMA 0% Plastic WMA 6% Plastic
Stage 1 Marshall compression test x x
Water sensitivity x x
Workability x x x x
Stage 2 Stiffness x x x x
Fatigue x x x x
Rutting – uniaxial dynamic creep test x x x x
Rutting – wheel tracking test x x x x

3
A. Almeida, S. Capitão, C. Estanqueiro et al. Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123384

25 6
max
20 5
max

Stability (kN)

Flow (mm)
4
15
3
10 min
min
2
5 1
0 0
HMA HMA WMA WMA HMA HMA WMA WMA
0%Plasc 6%Plasc 0%Plasc 6%Plasc 0%Plasc 6%Plasc 0%Plasc 6%Plasc
(a) (b)
6% 17%

mineral aggregates
max
5% 16%
Air voids content

Voids in the
4%
min
15%
3% min
14%
2%
1% 13%

0% 12%
HMA HMA WMA WMA HMA HMA WMA WMA
0%Plasc 6%Plasc 0%Plasc 6%Plasc 0%Plasc 6%Plasc 0%Plasc 6%Plasc

(c) (d)
Fig. 3. Results of stability (a), flow (b), air voids content (c), and voids in the mineral aggregates (d) for the four mixtures in comparison.

porosity requirements. As only 40 gyrations (the number of gyra-
tions defined to achieve the target air voids content) were used,
parameters with higher percentages of the maximum density, such
as the traffic densification index, were not determined.
2.2.4. Stage 2: Stiffness and fatigue cracking
Stiffness and fatigue cracking were evaluated using the four-
point bending (4 PB) test following the EN 12697-26 [41] and
the EN 12697-24 [42], respectively. For that, prismatic specimens
(410 mm in length, 50 mm in width and height) were prepared
in the laboratory (at least nine specimens per AC mixture). The
tests were carried out in strain-controlled conditions at 20 °C, a
representative temperature for this analysis and Portuguese condi-
tions [43].
For stiffness, a strain amplitude of 50 microstrains was consid-
ered. In what concerns the loading signal, the allowed frequencies
are device-dependent. The maximum frequency allowed by the
used device is 10 Hz, and therefore the following six frequencies
were considered, namely 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 Hz. From the strain
and load signals, the stiffness modulus and the phase angle were
determined.
The loading signal was applied at 10 Hz for fatigue cracking
resistance, and the following three strain levels were considered:
100, 200 and 300 microstrains. For failure criterion, the one speci-
fied in the EN 12697-24 [42] was considered, which represents a
50% reduction of the initial stiffness modulus. From results, a fati-
gue law, as in Eq. (2), is determined.
e ¼ A  NB
where, e is the failure strain in microstrain, N is the number of load
repetitions, and A and B are model coefficients.
2.2.5. Stage 2: Rutting
Rutting resistance could be characterised from simulation (such
as wheel tracking tests [44]) to more fundamental ones (such as
cyclic compression tests [45]). Besides, to assess rutting suscepti-
bility, fundamental tests provide mechanical parameters. In turn,
simulation tests induce stress states in test specimens roughly sim-
ilar to that in the field. The test method and the compaction proce-
dure have a considerable influence on rutting results [46].
Therefore, this study uses two test methods to evaluate rutting
resistance: the uniaxial dynamic creep test and the wheel-
tracking test.
2.2.5.1. Wheel-tracking test. The wheel-tracking test procedure fol-
lows the standard EN 12697-22 [44] – small size device, procedure
B in air. For that, specimens were prepared in the laboratory using
a roller compactor (370 mm in length, 300 mm in width, 40 mm in
thickness). A standardised loaded wheel (700 N) repeatedly passes
on the specimen during the test, and the rut depth formed is mea-
sured. The test stops at 10,000 load cycles or before if a rut depth of
20 mm is reached. The test was carried out at 60 °C as specified by
the Portuguese Road Administration [45]. Two specimens per mix-
ture were tested. After the test, the following parameters are deter-
mined: (1) the rut depth at the end of the test (RDair); (2) the
proportional rut depth (PRDair); and (3) the wheel-tracking slope
(WTSair).
2.2.5.2. Uniaxial dynamic creep test. The creep test procedure fol-
lows the standard EN 12697-25 [45]. For that, specimens (five
per mixture) were prepared, in the laboratory, using the gyratory
ð2Þ compactor (150 mm in diameter and 60 mm high) [47]. To guaran-
tee that the specimens are at the test temperature (60 °C as in the
wheel-tracking test), they were first conditioned in the machine’s
thermostatic chamber for four hours. During the test, the speci-
mens were subjected to a square and periodical loading pulse
(100 kPa, frequency of 0.5 Hz, loading time and a rest period of
one second), and the permanent deformation was measured (in
two displacement transducers). The test stops at 3600 loading
applications or before if the permanent deformation exceeds 4%
microstrain.
4
A. Almeida, S. Capitão, C. Estanqueiro et al. Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123384

2000 7%
1750 6%

Air voids content

1500 5%
1250
ITS (kPa)
4%
1000
3%
750
2%
500
250 1%
0 0%
dry wet dry wet dry wet dry wet dry wet dry wet dry wet dry wet

HMA HMA WMA WMA HMA HMA WMA WMA

0%Plasc 6%Plasc 0%Plasc 6%Plasc 0%Plasc 6%Plasc 0%Plasc 6%Plasc

(a) (b)

120%
100%
80%
60%
ITSR

40%
20%
0%
HMA HMA WMA WMA
0%Plasc 6%Plasc 0%Plasc 6%Plasc
(c)
Fig. 4. Water sensitivity results: (a) ITS, (b) air voids content and (c) ITSR.

3. Results and discussion compression test. A performance-based design is especially appro-

priate when non-conventional materials are used [49], as happens
3.1. Stage 1: Preliminary study in this case.

3.1.1. Marshall compression test 3.1.2. Water sensitivity

Fig. 3 presents the average Marshall compression test results
and the corresponding volumetric properties for the four asphalt
mixtures in comparison. Also, the Portuguese specification require-
ments [48] are depicted (horizontal dotted lines in red).
The results presented in Fig. 3 show that the WMAs have lower
stability than the HMAs and higher flow, and the incorporation of
plastic increased the air voids content and slightly decreased flow
for WMA. The addition of plastic differently influenced HMA and
WMA. Apparently, the main reason for this finding is the mixing
temperature of the constituents. The WMA was mixed at 100 °C,
so the added LDPE can be more challenging to combine with bitu-
men at that temperature than it happens in HMA, which was man-
ufactured at 165 °C. In this situation, the LDPE micro-flakes not
combined with the bitumen will fill more space in the mixture’s
mastic, increasing voids’ volume. Also, because the temperature
is lower for WMA, the portion of LDPE that interacted with the
bitumen tends to increase the viscosity of the resulting binder than
for the HMA, potentially generating a thicker binder film involving
the aggregates and, thus, increasing the spacing between the par-
ticles and, therefore, the voids content. The volumetric properties
and the WMA’s flow are the combinations of several effects: the
wax reduces the bitumen’s viscosity, and the LDPE increases it
when combined with the binder; the micro-particles of plastic
not combined with bitumen may exist in higher number within
the mastic.
Some of the Portuguese specification empirical requirements
are not fulfilled, namely the flow. This aspect was not an issue
because the compositions derived from stage 1 were based on an
empirical mix-design, which is not decisive when a fundamental
mix-design procedure is carried out. Good mechanical perfor-
mance must be achieved, irrespectively, the results of the Marshall
5
Fig. 4 presents the indirect tensile strength (ITS) values for both
dry and wet specimens, their air voids contents and the calculated
indirect tensile strength ratio (ITSR). The error bar represents the
standard deviation.
HMA and WMA performed differently when plastic was incor-
porated into them. The first significant difference arises because
the addition of plastic did not increase ITS results for WMA. As
mentioned before, the level of interaction between the LDPE and
the bitumen is temperature-dependent. In the case of WMA, the
mixing temperature was 100 °C, so the increase in the mixture’s
cohesion was low, even in dry conditions. Moreover, the water sen-
sitivity is generally reasonably correlated with the void content as
the water more easily enters within the material. Because WMA
with LDPE had high voids content, the measured performance
did not achieve increased results compared to the WMA without
plastic.
The HMA and the WMA incorporating plastic exhibited a higher
ITS value, with this increase being most pronounced for the HMA.
The WMA present a lower ITS value than the HMA. An analysis of
variance (ANOVA) was carried out to assess the results’ signifi-
cance, and the resulting p-values for both dry and wet conditions
are lower than 0.05. Besides providing detailed information on dif-
ferences among the tested AC mixtures, Tukey’s multiple compar-
ison analysis tests were also carried out. In dry conditions, only the
WMA with plastic does not significantly differ of the unmodified
WMA. In contrast, in wet conditions, the WMA with plastic does
not significantly differ from both unmodified HMA and WMA.
The results indicate that the most sensitive AC mixture to moisture
was the WMA with plastic. This fact is likely to occur because this
asphalt mixture had higher voids content. However, the results
measured for ITSR are satisfactory because the ITS value of the
A. Almeida, S. Capitão, C. Estanqueiro et al. Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123384

100

98 HMA_0%Plasc

96 HMA_6%Plasc

94 WMA_0%Plasc
(% of maximum density)
92 WMA_6%Plasc
Density

90

88

86 y = 4.1942ln(x) + 81.555 y = 3.8701ln(x) + 83.145

R² = 0.9965 R² = 0.9974
84
y = 4.1159ln(x) + 80.744 y = 3.7911ln(x) + 81.288
82 R² = 0.9961 R² = 0.997

80
1 10 100

Number of gyraons

Fig. 5. Compaction curves from gyratory compaction tests.

20.0 18.5 18.2

17.7
18.0 16.3 HMA_0%Plasc
16.0 14.1 HMA_6%Plasc
14.0
11.1 WMA_0%Plasc
12.0
10.0 WMA_6%Plasc
8.0
6.0 4.2 3.7
4.1 3.9 3.8
4.0
2.0 0.8
0.0
v(1) k CEI

Fig. 6. Results obtained for workability parameters (dimensionless): ease of laying [v(1)], slope of the compaction curve (k) and compaction energy index (CEI).

12000

10000
Sffness (MPa)

8000

6000

4000

2000

0
1 Hz 2 Hz 4 Hz 6 Hz 8 Hz 10 Hz

HMA_0%Plasc HMA_6%Plasc WMA_0%Plasc WMA_6%Plasc

Fig. 7. Variation of stiffness values, obtained at 20 °C for a strain amplitude of 50 mm/m, with loading frequency.

wet specimens is higher than 800 kPa, and the ITSR value is very Nevertheless, the values determined for v ð1Þ and CEI show that
close to 80%. the WMA without plastic presented slightly better workability
than the conventional HMA. Moreover, incorporating waste plastic
3.1.3. Workability into these two asphalt mixtures caused a slightly higher reduction
Fig. 5 depicts the compaction curves, and Fig. 6 presents the of the WMA workability than HMA. The results for the parameter k
workability parameter values (k, v(1) and CEI). were not conclusive since they are very close to each other. In what
The results show that waste plastic incorporation is expected to concerns CEI, the use of the organic additive in WMA reduced it,
reduce the workability of the asphalt mixtures. According to the meaning improved workability (even diminishing the temperature
results, the ease of laying of the four asphalt mixtures is similar. to 65 °C). On the contrary, incorporating waste plastic increased
6
A. Almeida, S. Capitão, C. Estanqueiro et al. Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123384

40
35

Phase angle (degree)

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1 Hz 2 Hz 4 Hz 6 Hz 8 Hz 10 Hz

HMA_0%Plasc HMA_6%Plasc WMA_0%Plasc WMA_6%Plasc

Fig. 8. Variation of phase angle values, obtained at 20 °C for a strain amplitude of 50 mm/m, with loading frequency.

500 results for HMA have already been published [27], they are used
HMA_0%Plasc in this paper for the sake of comparison.
Compared to HMA, WMA present lower stiffness values (about
HMA_6%Plasc
19% less in the mixture without plastic and 27% less in the mixture
WMA_0%Plasc
with plastic). The reduction in stiffness may happen because of the
Strain (μm/m)

WMA_6%Plasc
WMA-associated temperature reduction. This decrease could
diminish the short-term bitumen ageing and, consequently, both
the binder’s stiffness and the asphalt mixture. Also, the fact that
WMA is tested after specimen’s production could do not recover
the HMA level with age [18]. Regarding phase angle values, the dif-
ferences between the mixtures without plastic (HMA and WMA)
50
tend to diminish as the test frequency increases. The incorporation
10000 100000 1000000 10000000 of plastic flakes increased the stiffness values on average (17% in
Number of load applicaons HMA and 8% in WMA) and reduced the phase angle values (the
material becomes ‘‘more elastic”).
Fig. 9. Fatigue laws from 4 PB tests (20 °C and 10 Hz). The stiffness values of the WMA with plastic are valuable indi-
cators of the potential use of this type of mixture as a paving solu-
Table 3
tion for sustainable-oriented road construction.
Fatigue laws parameters.

Mixture A B R2
HMA_0%Plastic 2848.1 0.223 98%
3.2.2. Fatigue cracking
HMA_6%Plastic 1888.7 0.199 92% Fig. 9 presents the 4 PB test results for the four mixtures and the
WMA_0%Plastic 5002.5 0.281 87% corresponding fitted fatigue laws. Table 3 presents the parameters
WMA_6%Plastic 5875.4 0.305 95% of Eq. (2). In order to facilitate the comparison between mixtures,
Fig. 10 shows the strain values for a fatigue life of 1,000,000 cycles
(e6), 100,000 cycles (e5) and 10,000 cycles (e4). These strain values
400 365 376 354 were determined using the fitted fatigue laws. Again the HMA
HMA_0%Plasc
302 HMA_6%Plasc results for HMA previously published are used for the sake of com-
300
WMA_0%Plasc
219 parison [27].
Strain (μm/m)

191 197 175 WMA_6%Plasc

200 When comparing the HMA and the WMA without waste plastic
131 121
103 87 incorporation, HMA presents higher fatigue resistance at low strain
levels (e6) since a higher strain level is allowed in the HMA to reach
100

0 1,000,000 cycles (with plastic: 121 vs 87 microstrains). However,

ε4
Fig. 10. Strains values for a fatigue life of 1,000,000 cycles (e6), 100,000 cycles (e5)
and 10,000 cycles (e4).
CEI significantly, reducing the mix workability compared with the
mixtures without plastic. However, the laboratory experience of
mixing and compacting the materials did not reveal workability
issues.
3.2. Stage 2: Performance evaluation
3.2.1. Stiffness and phase angle
Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 present stiffness and phase angle values, respec-
tively, for the six loading frequencies considered. Although the
ε5 ε6 when strain level increases, and consequently, the number of
allowed load applications decreases, the performance of WMA
compares to that of HMA (e4). In other words, WMA supports a
higher strain level to reach 10,000 cycles than the HMA (with plas-
tic: 354 vs 302 microstrains). The incorporation of waste plastic
slightly decreases fatigue resistance. This situation can be coun-
tered by the ageing effect shown in the previous study [27], in
which findings showed that the incorporation of waste plastic
could partially offset the negative ageing effect observed in fatigue.
It is noteworthy that, in general, high-volume roads, such as
motorways and other high ranked national roads, comprise only
a small part of the road network [50]. Therefore, the studied mix-
ture (WMA with waste plastic) is expected to be proper for low-to-
intermediate volume roads without compromising fatigue
resistance.
7
A. Almeida, S. Capitão, C. Estanqueiro et al. Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123384

12
11 HMA_0%Plasc
10 HMA_6%Plasc
9 WMA_0%Plasc
Rut depth (mm)

8
WMA_6%Plasc
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
Loading cycles

Fig. 11. Ruth depth evolution from the wheel-tracking test.

Table 4 higher for the HMA (the rut depth decreased 66% in the HMA while
Wheel tracking test parameters. it decreased 26% in the WMA).
Mixture RDair (mm) PRDair(%) WTSair(mm/103cycles)
HMA_0%Plastic 10.3 25.8 0.111
3.2.3.2. Uniaxial dynamic creep test. Fig. 12 presents the creep
HMA_6%Platic 3.5 8.7 0.043 curves and Fig. 13, shows the creep rate for the four mixtures in
WMA_0%Plastic 3.4 8.5 0.138 comparison. As mentioned above, the tests were carried out on
WMA_6%Plastic 2.5 6.2 0.085 cylindrical specimens moulded in a gyratory compactor.
Compared to HMA, the WMA performed worse in the uniaxial
dynamic creep test, conversely to wheel-tracking test results. The
incorporation of waste plastic film flakes generated controversial
results. Considering the total deformation of specimens, the perfor-
3.2.3. Rutting mance of HMA increased while that of WMA decreased. Neverthe-
As mentioned above, the rutting resistance was evaluated using less, that parameter seems to be considerably influenced by the
uniaxial dynamic creep tests and wheel-tracking tests, and both
carried out at the same temperature (60 °C).
2.5
(microstarin/loading cycle)

3.2.3.1. Wheel-tracking test. Fig. 11 presents the evolution of the rut 2

depth against the number of loading cycles. Table 4 summarises
Creep rate

the results of all the parameters calculated (the HMA results had 1.5
already been published [27]).
Regardless of plastic incorporation, the WMA performed much 1
better than the HMA because the rut depth decreased by 67%.
0.5
HMA had low values of air voids (less than 3%). This threshold is
known to correspond to weak resistance against permanent defor-
0
mation for conventional AC. In this case, the results revealed higher HMA HMA WMA WMA
initial densification, and consequently, the rut rate rapidly 0%Plasc 6%Plasc 0%Plasc 6%Plasc
increased with loading cycles. The incorporation of plastic
improved the rutting resistance of both mixtures, which was Fig. 13. Creep rate parameter from the creep curve.

20000
Cumulave axial strain (microstrain)

HMA_0%Plasc
17500
HMA_6%Plasc
15000 WMA_0%Plasc
12500 WMA_6%Plasc
10000
7500
5000
2500
0
0 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 2800 3200 3600
Loading Cycles

Fig. 12. Cumulative axial strain from the uniaxial dynamic creep test.

8
A. Almeida, S. Capitão, C. Estanqueiro et al.
initial accelerated deformation, which may occur due to over-
densification or stress concentration in the specimen’s specific
points. So, it is not clear to distinguish, in that phase, the test-
dependent behaviour from the performance of the material.
Although the creep test’s cumulative strain does not indicate
the rut depth, it is generally used in comparing mixture perfor-
mances. If the creep rate is considered the behaviour parameter,
the results show that the WMA with plastic presented better resis-
tance against rutting than the WMA without plastic. This fact con-
firms the tendency observed in the wheel-tracking tests.
Controversial results are also reported in the literature. Özen
et al. [51] evaluated the rutting performance of elastomer-
modified asphalt mixtures and creep results does not correlate with
wheel-tracking test results. Baghaee Moghaddam et al. [52] found
different rutting performance of PET modified mixtures under static
and dynamic loads. In the study of Lastra-González et al. [53], PE and
PP increased rutting resistance while PS decreased it significantly. In
turn, Vila-Cortavitarte et al. [54] found improvements with PS incor-
poration. They pointed to the testing temperature, the loading con-
ditions (with rest period or not) and a lack of homogeneity not
detected during mixture manufacturing as possible reasons.
Nevertheless, more research is needed to evaluate rutting resis-
tance and thereby diminish the apparent controversial conclu-
sions. It can encompass variations in testing temperatures and
loading conditions.
4. Conclusions
In this paper, the possibility of incorporating waste plastic film
flakes into WMA was investigated in order to gain an improved
understanding of waste plastic modified WMA produced at low-
level temperature (100 °C). The investigation’s main conclusions
can be summarised as follows:
a) Although the WMA with waste plastic presented lower
moisture resistance than the WMA without plastic, its ITSR
value was very close to 80%, despite being the mixture with
the highest air voids content;
b) The WMA with waste plastic presented suitable workability;
c) The waste plastic incorporation improved the WMA stiffness
for 20 °C (all values above 6000 MPa whatever the test fre-
quency), although stiffnesses were lower than for the HMA
(above 8000 MPa);
d) Not surprisingly, due to stiffness trends, waste plastic incor-
poration reduces fatigue resistance and WMA’s fatigue per-
formance was not as suitable as that of HMA for low strain
levels. However, when strain level increased, and conse-
quently the number of allowed load applications decreased,
WMA performance compared with that of HMA;
e) The rutting results were acceptable. Nevertheless, they were
controversial if the accumulated deformation and total rut
depth were considered the parameters to measure perma-
nent deformation resistance. For these parameters, the
WMA with plastic was the best in the wheel tracking tests
and the worst in the uniaxial compression tests. Future
research is needed to address this trend;
f) Taking creep rate results to evaluate permanent deformation
resistance, the WMA with plastic showed better resistance
than the WMA without plastic. The same behaviour was
observed in wheel-tracking tests.
The authors acknowledge the need to implement trial sections
in construction conditions to understand the feasibility of waste
plastic use. Practical problems could arise from its introduction
in a batch plant’s mixer and with mixtures’ compaction (is segrega-
tion a possible drawback?). However, it is believed that the results
9
Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123384
of this study contributed to increasing knowledge about waste
plastic modified WMA. The studied mixture, WMA incorporating
waste plastic film flakes produced at low-level temperature
(100 °C) by using the Sasobit-ReduxÒ additive, is a promising solu-
tion to be applied in low-intermediate volume roads with mean-
ingful environmental benefits and contribution to the circular
economy.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Arminda Almeida: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investiga-
tion, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Silvino
Capitão: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data curation, Writing
- review & editing. Carla Estanqueiro: Investigation, Writing -
original draft.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank: (1) the SasolWax GmbH company for pro-
viding the WMA-additive; and (2) the enterprise Ambiente – Recu-
peração de Materiais Plásticos, S.A for providing the waste plastic
film flakes.
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