A Sensitivity Study of RAP Cost and Performance on its Life Cycle Benefits

This study inspects the benefits of using RAP on both financial and environmental aspects from life cycle viewpoints. The Life Cycle Cost Saving (LCCS) and the Life Cycle Carbon Reduction (LCCR) of various RAP mixtures (RAP content 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%) to the virgin mixture are introduced and applied in this study. Carbon emission data of associated materials are obtained from PaLATE database. According to calculations, the RAP mixtures corresponding cost ratio and service life ratio exceed certain thresholds to have advantages over virgin mixtures. From a financial perspective, the service life ratio of RAP mixtures to virgin mixtures must be larger than the cost ratio of these two materials. For environmental benefit, the service life of RAP mixtures must be over 70% (40% RAP) to 90% (10% RAP) of that of the virgin mixture.