This paper reports the findings of a project on evaluating the performance
of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) for use as a base material under hot m
ix asphalt pavements and as an aggregate in portland cement concrete paveme
nts. Nine design sections involving hot mix asphalt and portland cement con
crete pavements were constructed at the University of Central Florida's Cir
cular Accelerated Test Track to evaluate the performance of the pavement se
ctions made with RCA under actual dual-wheel loading. Laboratory tests perf
ormed on concrete specimens made of different percentages of RCA and virgin
aggregate (VA) showed that the higher the percentage of RCA material, the
lower the compressive, flexural, and tensile strengths. Despite having lowe
r compressive strength than VA concrete, 100% RCA concrete had a compressiv
e strength of 35 MPa (5,070 psi), which was well above the target strength
of 25 MPa (3,630 psi). Trenching of the flexible pavement test sections and
petrographic examination of the hardened concrete showed that after a simu
lated life expectancy of 3.04 years for asphalt sections and 4.2 years for
concrete sections, RCA has performed at least equally to VA.