Rheological and 3D DEM characterization of potential rutting of cold bituminous mastics

Cold recycling with bitumen emulsion represents one of the most attractive pavements rehabilitation methods. This technique has increased its popularity because it combines environmental and economical efficiency to the production of bituminous layers of adequate strength. The binder matrix obtained from this application is generally represented by mastic of bitumen, cement and filler. The percentage of these three elements affects the mixture performance in terms of stiffness, fatigue and rutting resistance as well as durability. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate how cement and limestone filler contents affect the rutting response of mastics. Laboratory testing and 3D Discrete Element Method were performed using different percentages of filler and cement, keeping constant the overall volume fraction of both compared to the total volume of the mastic samples. Temperature sweep and multiple stress creep recovery tests were implemented to study the behavior of mastics in terms of permanent deformation by shear stress