MALAYSIAN EXPERIENCE WITH COLD IN-PLACE RECYCLING: A CASE STUDY

K.P. Chong, H. Mat Zin and M. Yazip

Kumpulan Ikram Sdn. Bhd.

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background

Malaysia is relatively a small country of 13 states, which are linked by 73,403 km of roads. Out of this length, 15,746 km (22%) are under the jurisdiction of Federal Government (Federal Roads) and the remaining are either under the respective states, private or highway concessionaires. Majority of this road network (78%) are of paved roads, whilst the remaining are unpaved roads of natural soil/earth or gravels. Asphalt overlays, mill and replace and reconstruction had been the conventional and common methods to rehabilitate the existing paved roads until mid 80s when the recycling technique was first introduced in Malaysia. Since then, the concept of recycling road pavements as an alternative rehabilitation measure has become popular and acceptable. Both the hot recycling and cold recycling methods have been applied in Malaysia. Within the last 5 years, approximately 2,191,000 m2 or 626 lane-km of roads in Malaysia had been rehabilitated utilizing cold recycling techniques. Out of this total, more than 80% were recycled using foamed bitumen as the stabilizing agent. The other 20% were either recycled using cement or QS3E. The fact that foamed bitumen has become the most popular and favorable option is mainly due to its cost effectiveness and shorter duration required before the finished layer can be opened to traffic.

1.2 Objective
This paper shares a Malaysian experience in pavement cold recycling technique by highlighting on one completed project, namely the upgrading and rehabilitation of Federal Route 1581 Jalan Felda Bukit Sagu, Pahang. It will briefly describe the processes of pavement evaluation and rehabilitation design, construction and quality control activities. The paper will also touch on the performance of the recycled pavements and future direction of the recycling work in Malaysia.

2. UPGRADING AND REHABILITATION OF FR1581 2.1 General Description of the Project

This project involved widening and strengthening 14km of FR1581, Jalan Felda Bukit Sagu in Kuantan, Pahang. The road pavements were severely damaged due to inadequate structural capacity to cater for unexpectedly heavy traffic loading. The road was constructed to serve the community in the vicinity of Bukit Sagu and Cherul palm oil plantation schemes (Felda). The opening of a cement factory coupled with poor maintenance has, however, contributed to pavement deterioration at a very fast rate. Conventional routine maintenance of cut and patch had not worked and failed within a few weeks.

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2.2 Pavement Evaluation and Rehabilitation Design

A detailed project level pavement evaluation, which involves both destructive and non-destructive field as well as laboratory testing was carried out to systematically assess the functional and structural conditions of the existing pavements. The purpose of the evaluation was to identify the primary mode(s) and cause(s) of pavement distress before appropriate rehabilitation measures could be proposed. From the analyzed results it was found that the total pavement thickness was insufficient to cater for a traffic loading of 22msa, which was extra ordinary for a normal Felda roads. It was also found that the road base was generally in poor condition with an average E-modulus of 264MPa and a structural coefficient of 0.29 (the structural coefficient for fresh road base materials used in Malaysia is 0.32). Traditionally, in order to solve the inherent problem, partial reconstruction and thick structural overlay would be required. However, in this case the Cold In-Place Recycling (CIPR) with foamed bitumen was proposed as an alternative rehabilitation method. Using this technique, the existing asphalt surfacing together with about one third of the road base were recycled in-place. The recycled layer was stabilized with foamed bitumen (2.5%) to form a new road base, on top of which fresh layers of ACBC and ACWC were laid. More importantly, this alternative CIPR method has resulted in over 10% cost saving.

2.3 Construction
The actual construction involved the use of Wirtgen WR2500 recycler, which is capable of milling, mixing and placing the recycled material simultaneously in a single pass process. In order to produce a uniform cross section throughout the pavement width and to avoid differential settlement, firstly the widening sections were constructed from the subgrade such that the road base level flushed with the existing road level. Then the new widened sections and the adjacent pavements were recycled simultaneously to the required depth (refer Figure 1 for a typical cross section).

Figure 1. Typical pavement cross section.

The recycled layer was opened to traffic immediately after construction and was sealed with asphaltic surfacing within 7 days.

2.4 Quality Control

The quality of the recycled layer not only depends on sound designs but also on the proper application of the required additives and appropriate control of the recycling process during construction. Therefore, in order to ensure that the final product conforms to the specified requirements, quality control tests were carried out. The tests included measurement of the
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relevant strength of the material in the recycled layer, the field density and thickness of the compacted material.

3. PERFORMANCE OF RECYCLED PAVEMENTS

As recycling is relatively new in the country, efforts have been made to monitor the performance of the recycled layer under local climatic and traffic conditions. Pavement evaluation at certain time interval has been programmed and carried out on some selected projects. In general, the performance of the pavements rehabilitated using the cold recycling technique has been very promising without any signs of severe distress within 2 5 years after construction. Table 1 shows the FWD central deflection for FR1581, measured before and after the construction. The results show a significant reduction in the central deflection value, indicating that the pavements are structurally sound.
Table 1. The FWD central deflection (microns) for FR1581.

Before Construction 2001 Minimum Maximum Average Stdev. 85%tile 4. FUTURE DIRECTION 268 2549 813 327 1068

After Construction 2003 (12 mths.) 2004 (18 mths.) 165 1402 335 217 446 152 1685 366 183 471

Although the cold recycling technique is gaining acceptance as cost effective option in rehabilitating distressed pavements, continuous and concerted efforts are necessary to optimize the application of the technology. It is hoped that a 5-year collaborative research program between JKR, Kumpulan Ikram and Roadcare, will provide ample opportunities to understand the characteristics and performance of recycled pavement layers better. It is hoped that this study will lead to an establishment of a comprehensive guidelines and specifications on the cold recycling technique in Malaysia.

5. CONCLUSION
Pavement recycling technology is relatively new in the country, yet in terms of machine availability and successful application of the technique, Malaysia is among the active recyclers in the world. However, concerted efforts from the relevant government bodies, research institutions and the industry movers will improve the technology, hence ensuring the continuity of its success.

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