Experimental investigation of waste glass powder as filler in asphalt concrete mixes

Abstract

Glass industry generates a large amount of powdered glass waste during the cutting and polishing processes. Laboratory investigations were conducted to evaluate the feasibility of recycling this waste into asphalt concrete as mineral filler. The primary characterization of both fillers was done through specific gravities, plasticity index, particle size distribution, German filler values, textural analysis, mineralogical analysis, hydrophilic coefficient, and pH value tests. Asphalt mixes were designed as per Marshall test procedure and retained stability values as well as Marshall quotient were determined at their optimum binder contents (OBC). Mixes having waste glass powder have higher Marshall stability and lower bulk density at lower OBC. Glass powder mixes were found to have superior rutting resistance which may be attributed to their lower apparent film thickness. However, inclusion of glass powder impaired the resistance of mixes against moisture permeation due to high amount of silica in glass powder. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020.