This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project will focus on using recycled materials, like tire rubber, to enhance the performance of pavement as an aspect of the civil infrastructure sustainability. The broad goal of the research program is to fundamentally characterize the materials and process variables responsible for property development in asphalt-rubber interaction. Asphalt applications have the potential to contribute to the solution of the growing solid waste problem provided that engineering and environmental concerns are addressed. Recycled tires, also known as crumb rubber modifier (CRM), and recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) for example, can be engineered and used successfully in asphalt pavement applications. Asphalt binders represent an area that can improve pavement performance. The proposed research will synthesize asphalt-CRM binders through interactions, will characterize the physical and chemical properties of asphalt-CRM binders, and will model the impact of chemical releases from recycled asphalt materials containing additives and polymers on soil and groundwater.
This CAREER project will have a broad impact because solid waste is problematic throughout the world. The project will enhance available knowledge on property development during the binder production process. Techniques from different engineering and science disciplines will be used to solve the research problems. The educational plan in this work is strongly tied with the research component through developing a graduate/senior course on recycled material applications, and through faculty-professional focus meetings to exchange experiences in the area of recycled materials. Proposed activities will serve as a tool to recruit, train, and mentor students in the undergraduate and graduate programs and will prepare students for careers in recycled materials. The community outreach activities will raise the awareness of K-12 students to the environmental issues facing the local as well as the global community regarding solid waste management.
