Impacts of Curing Time and Moisture Content

on Engineering Properties of Cold In-Place

Recycling Mixtures Using Foamed
or Emulsified Asphalt
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati on 11/07/19. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Yongjoo Kim, A.M.ASCE1; Soohyok Im, S.M.ASCE2; and Hosin “David” Lee, A.M.ASCE3

Abstract: A cold in-place recycling (CIR) layer is typically overlaid by hot-mix asphalt (HMA) to protect it from water ingress and traffic
load. Most public agencies have different curing requirements that specify the number of curing days or the maximum moisture content for
the CIR layer before placing the HMA overlay. However, these criteria are not well-founded on sound engineering principles and are often
challenged by contractors, especially in inclement weather conditions. This study was performed to explore technically sound ways to iden-
tify the minimum in-place CIR properties necessary to permit the placement of an HMA overlay. The primary objective of this research was to
determine how curing time and moisture content affect the development of indirect tensile strength, dynamic modulus, and flow number of
CIR mixtures composed of foamed asphalt (CIR-foam) or emulsified asphalt (CIR-emulsion). On the basis of the limited test results, the
indirect tensile strength of CIR specimens did not increase during an early stage of curing but increased during a later stage of curing, usually
when the moisture content was less than 1.5%. Given the same curing time, CIR-foam specimens exhibited more tensile strength and less
moisture content than CIR-emulsion specimens. Both dynamic modulus and flow numbers increased as the curing time increased and the
moisture content decreased. Given the same moisture content, CIR-foam specimens exhibited higher dynamic modulus and larger flow
numbers than CIR-emulsion specimens. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000209. © 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
CE Database subject headings: Asphalts; Mixtures; Recycling; Curing; Moisture; Tensile strength.
Author keywords: Cold in-place recycling (CIR); Curing criteria; Moisture content; Curing period; Indirect tensile strength; Dynamic
modulus; Flow number.

Introduction thickness, type of asphalt used, moisture content of CIR layer,

Cold in-place recycling (CIR) is a pavement recycling technique
that mills the old asphalt surface and mixes it with foamed asphalt
or emulsified asphalt in the field. CIR has become one of the popu-
lar methods for rehabilitating existing asphalt pavements because it
is not only cost-effective but also conserves paving materials. A
CIR layer is normally covered by a hot-mix asphalt (HMA) overlay
or chip seal to protect it from water ingress and traffic abrasion and
to obtain the required pavement structure and texture. Curing is
expected to not only occur during the exposed-to-air period but also
continue after surfacing. In this research, the curing period was
defined as the exposed-to-air period before surfacing. The curing
period depends on several factors, which include day and nighttime
temperatures, humidity levels and rainfall activity, wind, layer
1
Senior Scholar, Highway Research Div., Korea Institute of Construc-
tion Technology, 1190, Simindae-Ro, Ilsanseo-Gu, Goyang-Si, Gyeonggi-
Do, 411-712, Korea.
2
Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of
Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0531.
3
Professor, Public Policy Center, Dept. of Civil and Environmental En-
gineering, Univ. of Iowa, 4117 Seamans Center, Iowa City, IA 52242-1527
(corresponding author). E-mail: hlee@engineering.uiowa.edu
Note. This manuscript was submitted on September 30, 2009; approved
on October 13, 2010; published online on October 26, 2010. Discussion
period open until October 1, 2011; separate discussions must be submitted
for individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Materials in Civil
Engineering, Vol. 23, No. 5, May 1, 2011. ©ASCE, ISSN 0899-1561/
2011/5-542–553/$25.00.
the level of compaction, in-place voids, and the drainage character-
istics of the materials below the CIR layer. Overlaying the CIR
surface before adequate moisture loss through proper curing
may result in a premature failure of the CIR layer and/or an
HMA overlay (ARRA 2001).
Most laboratory and field test results indicate that the curing
temperature and the curing period length significantly affect the
properties of the CIR mixtures. Currently, various agencies have
differing moisture content requirements that specify either the total
moisture content of the mix or the increase in the moisture content
from the pavement before recycling for the placement of the wear-
ing surface. The industry standard in Iowa for the curing time is
10–14 days or a maximum moisture content of 1.5%. However,
these criteria were not developed on sound engineering principles.
This paper discusses how curing time and moisture content affect
indirect tensile strength, stiffness, and rutting resistance of CIR
mixtures during the curing process.
Research Objective
The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) requires that the
moisture content of CIR be less than 1.5% before placing the
HMA overlay. However, this threshold is not well-founded on
sound engineering principles. If the CIR layer is subjected to traffic
for an extended period of time before the wearing course is placed,
the risk of a premature failure is increased for both the CIR layer
and the HMA overlay. Therefore, this study was launched to iden-
tify the minimum in-place CIR properties necessary to permit

542 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MAY 2011

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2011, 23(5): 542-553

 placement of the HMA overlay. The indirect tensile strength of CIR
mixtures was selected because it is the most commonly used test
procedure to determine moisture susceptibility. The dynamic
modulus and repeated load tests were selected to determine the
impact of moisture on the stiffness and the permanent deformation
of the CIR mixtures, respectively. The primary objective of this
research was to determine how curing time and moisture content
affect indirect tensile strength, dynamic modulus, and flow number
of CIR mixtures.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati on 11/07/19. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Literature Review
Field Curing Procedure of Cold In-Place Recycling
The Asphalt Institute (1998) reported that inadequate curing can
produce high retained moisture contents that would increase the
possibility of asphalt stripping and slow the rate of strength devel-
opment after an HMA overlay is placed. The curing process can be
fairly rapid in favorable weather conditions, but high humidity, low
temperature, or rainfall soon after CIR placement can increase the
curing period significantly. The Association Mondiale de la Route
(AIPCR) and World Road Association (PIARC) (2002) recom-
mend that the application of the HMA overlay should be delayed
until the residual water has largely evaporated. This duration should
not only depend on the climatic conditions following CIR construc-
tion, but also on the traffic level that the CIR layer could support
after the completion of pavement construction. In most European
countries, the residual moisture content is used to determine the
optimal timing of the HMA overlay placement, ranging from
1.0% to 1.5%. In Spain, the placement of an HMA overlay is rec-
ommended only after the moisture content in the CIR layer has
become less than 1.0% for at least seven days or when the materials
can be extracted from the CIR pavement by coring.
On the basis of the recent Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) survey (2009), each state has differing moisture content
or curing period requirements for the placement of the wearing sur-
face. Arizona, Iowa, South Dakota, Vermont, and Washington state
require that the CIR layer cure until the moisture of the CIR mixes
is reduced to 1.5% or less. Colorado requires a moisture content
of 1.0%, and Kansas requires 2.0%. Delaware, Idaho, Maine,
Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio,
Ontario, and Pennsylvania require a 4–45 days curing period.
Although most agencies do not specify a different curing re-
quirement for CIR-foam versus CIR-emulsion, AIPCR and PIARC
(2002) allow a higher moisture content for CIR-foam than CIR-
emulsion. They recommend between 1.0% and 1.5% moisture
for a CIR-emulsion layer before an HMA overlay is placed but
at least 2.0% less than the optimum moisture content (OMC)
for a CIR-foam layer. Assuming that a typical OMC value of
reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) materials is between 4.0%
and 4.5%, moisture content between 2.0% and 2.5% is allowed
for CIR-foam, which would be 1.0% more than for CIR-emulsion.
In the United Kingdom, the minimum curing period for CIR-foam
is specified as just 36 h (AIPCR and PIARC 2002).
Laboratory Curing Procedure of CIR-Foam
Because most research efforts were made on the development of the
mix design procedure of full-depth reclamation with foamed
asphalt (FDR-foam), limited literature is available about the labo-
ratory curing procedure of CIR-foam. Past FDR-foam curing
procedures are discussed in this paper as a relevant laboratory
curing procedure, which can be adopted to simulate the curing
process of CIR-foam in the field.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MAY 2011 / 543
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2011, 23(5): 542-553
To simulate the initial loss of mixing water while reaching the
strength of the mixture during construction and the early service life
of FDR-foam, many researchers adopted the laboratory curing pro-
cedure proposed by Bowering (1970) and Bowering and Martin
(1976) that is, curing in the oven at 60°C for three days. Lee (1981)
suggested that the effect of curing on the strength of FDR-foam
could be best established on the basis of a laboratory-field correla-
tion. Ruckel et al. (1982) recommended curing FDR-foam in the
oven at 40°C for one day for a short-term curing and for three days
for a long-term curing, which was later adopted by CSIR Transpor-
tek (Muthen 1999). Castedo and Wood (1983) reported that the
strength of the foamed asphalt mixture increased as curing time in-
creased, particularly from one to three days. Roberts et al. (1984)
studied how curing environments affected tensile strength and found
that the strength of dry-cured specimens is approximately two times
more than that of wet-cured specimens. Maccarrone et al. (1994)
reported that three days curing at 60°C appeared to be equivalent
to 13 months of field curing for FDR-foam because the oven-cured
FDR-foam specimens showed similar resilient modulus values to
the field core samples measured 12 months after construction.
Jenkins and Van de Ven (1999) recommended that the FDR-
foam should be cured in the oven at 46°C for three days to simulate
a 150 mm thick FDR-foam base layer with thin surfacing in a
region with a mean monthly air temperature of 30°C. This curing
condition would represent the medium- or long-term curing process
of an FDR-foam base layer in the field. To predict short-term per-
formance, that is, 7–14 days after construction, they recommended
oven curing at 40°C for one day. Marquis et al. (2003) adopted a
curing procedure for FDR-foam in the oven at 40°C for three days.
Lane and Kazmierowski (2003) adopted a curing procedure for
FDR-foam in the oven at 60  2°C for 72  4 h. Kim et al.
(2007) reported that CIR-foam mixtures cured in the oven at
60°C for two days exhibited significantly higher indirect tensile
strength values than those cured in the oven at 40°C for three days.
Laboratory Curing Procedure of CIR-Emulsion
Sebaaly et al. (2004) recommended that the design process should
evaluate the early stability of the designed CIR-emulsion mixture
by using Hveem stability and resilient modulus. They evaluated the
CIR-emulsion mixtures at three different curing stages: (1) initial
curing; (2) final curing; and (3) long-term curing as follows:
1. Initial curing: Specimens are cured in the mold at 25°C
for 15 h.
2. Final curing: Specimens are extruded out of the mold and are
cured in an oven at 60°C for three days.
3. Long-term curing: Specimens are extruded out of the mold and
cured in an oven at 60°C for 30 days.
There exists some variation in the curing temperature and curing
time adopted for CIR-emulsion mix design processes in the labo-
ratory (Lee et al. 2002). Cross (2003) adopted two stages of curing
for CIR-emulsion mixtures: (1) an initial curing stage; and (2) a
final curing stage. Initially, samples were cured for 0 h, 0.5 h,
1 h, and 2 h after mixing. After the initial curing time, they were
compacted by using a Superpave gyratory compactor. The com-
pacted specimens were then extracted from the mold and cured
in a 60°C oven for 48 h. Lee et al. (2003) recommended curing
periods of 6 and 24 h to simulate short-term and long-term curing,
respectively. Curing temperatures of 60°C and 25°C were adopted
to represent typical pavement temperatures during a hot summer
day and a cool summer night, respectively.
Because only the surface of CIR pavement is directly exposed to
air in the field, Batista and Antunes (2003) covered all but the tops
of some CIR-emulsion specimens with a plastic film to allow water
to evaporate through the top surface only. They reported that water
 content evolution in the field would be between laboratory speci-
mens with and without plastic films. They obtained cores from the
site after one year of traffic loading and tested them for resilient
modulus. The resilient modulus of CIR-emulsion specimens cured
at room temperature for four months (two months with a lateral film
strip and two months without it) exhibited resilient modulus be-
tween 2,000 MPa and 2,500 MPa, which were similar to those
of the cores. The specimens cured in the oven at 60°C for three
days, however, had lower resilient modulus than the cores.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati on 11/07/19. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Laboratory Specimen Preparation
Indirect tensile strength, dynamic modulus, and repeated load tests
were performed to evaluate the how moisture, curing temperature,
and curing time affected CIR mixtures. We chose the indirect
tensile strength test because it is the most commonly used test
to determine the moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixtures. The
dynamic modulus and repeated load tests were also performed
to determine how the moisture content affects stiffness and the per-
manent deformation of the CIR mixtures, respectively.
During the summer of 2007, RAP materials were collected
from two CIR project sites in Iowa: (1) State Highway 210
in Story County; and (2) County Road R 13 in Clayton County.
Story County’s RAP materials were collected from a job site
and Clayton County’s RAP materials were collected from a
stockpile.
Properties of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement Materials
The collected RAP materials were dried in the air for 14 days.
The dried RAP materials were divided into six stockpiles that were
retained on the following sieves: 25.0 mm, 19.0 mm, 9.5 mm,
4.75 mm, 1.18 mm, and passing 1.18 mm sieve. The divided
RAP stockpiles were then weighed, and their relative proportions
were computed. After discarding RAP materials bigger than
25 mm, a gradation analysis was performed, and their results
are plotted on a 0.45 power chart in Fig. 1, which uses the percent-
age of aggregate by weight passing a certain sieve size on the y-axis
and the sieve size raised to the power 0.45 as the x-axis. Although
Fig. 1. Two different RAP sources passing 25 mm sieve
544 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MAY 2011
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2011, 23(5): 542-553
some states specify the lime (or fine materials passing a No. 200
sieve) to improve the moisture susceptibility of CIR mixtures, the
current practices adopted in Iowa do not require it.
As summarized in Table 1, the extracted asphalt contents from
the RAP materials from Story and Clayton Counties were 5.81%
and 5.80%, respectively. The dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) test
was then performed on the extracted asphalt at three different tem-
peratures: 76°C, 82°C, and 88°C. At 76°C, the extracted asphalt
from Story County was softer with a penetration number of 18
and a G = sin δ value of 1.48 than that of Clayton County with
a penetration number of 14 and a G = sin δ value of 4.26. Overall,
the gradation of extracted aggregates of RAP materials from Story
County was slightly more coarse than that of Clayton County but
had more fine aggregates passing a No. 200 sieve.
Mix Design Parameters
Table 2 summarizes the mix design parameters used for curing CIR
mixtures with two types of binder: (1) foamed asphalt [performance
grade (PG) 52-34]; and (2) high-float medium setting-2s (HFMS-
2s) emulsion. The high-float (HF) emulsion is designed to form a
gel structure that enables aggregates to be coated with a thicker
asphalt film to perform in a wider temperature range. The MS-
2s designation is a medium setting emulsion with a higher viscosity
made from a relatively hard asphalt binder.
CIR-foam mixtures were prepared with 2.0% foamed asphalt
and 4.0% moisture content, and CIR-emulsion mixtures were
prepared with 3.0% emulsified asphalt (equivalent to 2% asphalt
because 67% of emulsion is asphalt) and 3.0% moisture content.
All specimens were compacted with a gyratory compactor at 25
gyrations, which would give a similar density to the specimen as 75
blows of the Marshall hammer (Lee et al. 2009). All specimens
were 100 mm in diameter but with differing heights: 63.5 mm
for the indirect tensile strength test; and 150 mm for dynamic
modulus and repeated load tests.
Covered Curing Process
To represent the moisture condition of CIR pavement after surfac-
ing, as shown in Fig. 2, the compacted specimens were cured in a
 Table 1. Properties of Extracted Asphalt and Extracted Aggregates
G = sin δ (kPa)
RAP source Residual asphalt content (%) Penetration index Performance grade 76°C 82°C 88°C
Story County 5.81 18 PG 76 1.48 0.73 0.37
Clayton County 5.80 14 PG 88 4.26 2.07 1.04
Gradations of extracted aggregates
Sieve size Story County Clayton County
25 mm 100.0 100.0
19.0 mm 99.7 100.0
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati on 11/07/19. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

12.5 mm 96.6 97.3

9.5 mm 90.8 92.9
No. 4 71.6 74.0
No. 8 56.2 59.4
No. 16 44.8 45.5
No. 30 36.0 34.6
No. 50 22.1 23.0
No. 100 10.8 12.5
No. 200 5.7 4.4

Table 2. Design Parameters Selected for Cold In-Place Recycling with sealed plastic mold. Specimens were fully enclosed to determine
Foamed Asphalt and Emulsified Asphalt Mixtures the effects of curing under a nearly constant moisture condition
without a significant amount of water evaporation. For each
Type of mixture
RAP source, 60 CIR specimens were prepared to measure indirect
Design parameters CIR-foam CIR-emulsion tensile strength after 0, 7, and 14 days of covered curing in an oven
Asphalt binder PG 52-34 — at 25°C and 45°C after the specimens had been cured in the air for 0,
Emulsified asphalt — HFMS-2s 1, 3, and 5 h. As shown in Fig. 3, to obtain the initial estimated
Foaming temperature (°C) 170ºC — moisture contents of 3.0%, 2.5%, 2.0%, and 1.5%, 15 CIR spec-
Foaming water content (%) 1.3% — imens were cured in the air for each of four curing periods, 0, 1, 3,
Foamed asphalt content (%) 2.0% — and 5 h, respectively (a total of 60 specimens).
Emulsified asphalt — 3.0% (2∶1 asphalt First, the indirect tensile strength was measured from 12 uncov-
content (%) versus water) ered specimens, three replicates for each of four curing periods (0,
Moisture content of RAP (%) 4.0% 3.0% 1, 3, and 5 h). The remaining 48 specimens were then enclosed in
RAP source Story County and Clayton County plastic molds and cured for 7 and 14 days at temperatures of 25°C
Compaction method gyratory compactor at 25 gyrations and 45°C. The indirect tensile strength was measured from three
Specimen size Diameter: 100 mm and height: replicates for each of 16 combinations of four initial uncovered cur-
63:5  0:5 mm for indirect tensile
ing periods (0, 1, 3, and 5 h), two covered curing periods (7 and
strength test; diameter: 100 mm and
14 days), and two curing temperatures (25°C and 45°C). After the
indirect tensile strength was measured, all CIR specimens were
height: 150  0:5 mm for dynamic
dried in the oven, and their dry weights were measured to record
modulus and repeated load test
the true initial moisture contents obtained after curing uncovered
Number of specimen 3 specimens/batch
for 0, 1, 3, and 5 h.

Fig. 2. Covered curing method in the laboratory to simulate field curing (photo courtesy of Yongjoo Kim): (a) CIR pavement in the field; (b) covered
CIR specimen in the lab

JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MAY 2011 / 545

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2011, 23(5): 542-553

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati on 11/07/19. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 3. Covered curing process of both CIR-foam and CIR-emulsion specimens

Fig. 4. ITS against moisture content for CIR-foam specimens from two RAP sources cured at 25°C and 45°C

546 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MAY 2011

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2011, 23(5): 542-553

 Effects of Curing on Indirect Tensile Strength
Figs. 4 and 5 show indirect tensile strengths for CIR-foam and CIR-
emulsion specimens for two different RAP sources measured at a
room temperature against moisture contents for curing tempera-
tures of 25°C and 45°C. The coefficient of variation (COV) was
measured among three replicates for each curing condition, and
they ranged from 0.1 to 0.4. The COV of 0.4 can be considered
too high to be reliable. However, the high COV value among three
replicates was caused by the excessive amount of moisture present
in the prepared specimens and the subsequent difference in the
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati on 11/07/19. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
strengths of two replicates are identical (140 kPa), but the third rep-
licate is 160 kPa. This difference in the indirect tensile strengths can
also be explained by the difference in moisture content of 0.6%
between the first two replicates and the third one (i.e., the difference
between 1.4% and 2.0%). The high COV value (up to 0.4) for the
indirect tensile strengths of three replicates cured in the same con-
dition is normal because the specimens were prepared with an ex-
cessive amount of moisture, resulting in the significant variance in
the moisture content among the three replicates.
Overall, the indirect tensile strength increased as the moisture
content decreased except for the CIR-emulsion with RAP materials

moisture content among the specimens cured in the same condition.
The quality of the data can be also observed from the scatter of
data among the three replicates shown with the same symbol for
each condition. For example, among three replicates of Story
County specimens cured in the air for 1 h shown at the top-left
in Fig. 4 as a filled square, the indirect tensile strengths of two rep-
licates are similar (110 kPa) but that of the third replicate is
180 kPa. The difference of 70 kPa is quite significant given that
three replicates were cured in the same condition of 1 h in the
air. This difference, however, can be explained by the significant
difference in the moisture content ranging from 2.0% to 2.5%.
A similar observation can be made from the specimens cured in
the air for 3 h (as shown by the filled triangle). The indirect tensile
from Clayton County cured at 45°C. The increased curing temper-
ature reduced to 1.0% moisture content of CIR-foam specimens,
but it did not increase the indirect tensile strength.
The average indirect tensile strength of three specimens of CIR-
foam and CIR-emulsion mixtures prepared for each of four initial
curing conditions is plotted against curing periods in Figs. 6 and 7,
respectively. The indirect tensile strength of both CIR-foam and
CIR-emulsion specimens increased as the initial curing time in
the air increased from 0 to 5 h. During the initial curing for up
to 5 h in the air, the CIR-foam specimens developed more indirect
tensile strength than the CIR-emulsion specimens. This might have
been because the CIR-foam lost moisture more quickly than the
CIR-emulsion during 5 h of the initial curing in air. It takes more

Fig. 5. ITS against moisture content for CIR-emulsion specimens from two RAP sources cured at 25°C and 45°C

JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MAY 2011 / 547

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2011, 23(5): 542-553

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati on 11/07/19. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Fig. 6. ITS against curing time for CIR-foam specimens from two RAP sources cured at 25°C and 45°C
time for emulsified asphalt to release water because of its breaking
time than foamed asphalt.
Overall, the indirect tensile strength of CIR-foam specimens
stayed constant or slightly decreased, whereas that of CIR-
emulsion specimens increased slightly as the curing period in-
creased from 0 to 14 days. The indirect tensile strength of
CIR-emulsion specimens with RAP materials from Story County
cured at 45°C for 14 days was more than those cured for 7 days
despite their higher moisture contents. Additional curing time
alone, without water evaporation, may increase indirect tensile
strength.
The average indirect tensile strength for each of the seven ranges
of moisture contents is shown in Fig. 8. A gradual increase of the
indirect tensile strength as the moisture content decreases 3.5% to
1.0% (except for the CIR-emulsion of RAP materials from Clayton
County cured at 45°C) was observed. The CIR specimens with high
moisture contents might have contributed to the low indirect tensile
strength of the CIR specimens prepared with RAP materials from
Clayton County.
Effects of Moisture on Cured CIR Specimens
The current curing practice in Iowa simply requires that the maxi-
mum moisture content in the CIR layer is less than 1.5%. However,
548 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MAY 2011
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2011, 23(5): 542-553
a cured CIR layer with a moisture content of 1.5% or less may be
rained on before the placement of an HMA overlay. Therefore, the
critical issue is if an HMA overlay can be placed on the cured but
rained-on CIR layer without waiting for its moisture content to be
less than 1.5% again.
To simulate rain during the curing period of CIR pavement, as
shown in Fig. 9, six CIR specimens were cured for 5 h in the air to
reach a moisture content of 1.5%. First, the indirect tensile strength
of three cured CIR specimens was measured. The cured CIR spec-
imens were then dried at 40ºC for 3 days, and their dry weights
were measured to record their true initial moisture contents before
curing. The other three cured CIR specimens were placed in a water
bath at 25°C for 24 h to represent rain on a CIR layer in the field.
The weight of the CIR specimens at dry and saturated surface
dry conditions were measured to record saturation during the
submerged procedure, and an indirect tensile strength test was con-
ducted to investigate the influence of the moisture on the indirect
tensile strength of the cured specimens.
Fig. 10 shows the average indirect tensile strengths of three
cured and three cured and submerged CIR specimens and the
percent indirect tensile strength loss. When the cured specimens
were submerged under water for 24 h, the indirect tensile strength
decreased 39.1–52.2%, except the CIR-emulsion specimens with
RAP materials from Clayton County. Overall, when submerged
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati on 11/07/19. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 7. ITS against curing time for CIR-emulsion specimens from two RAP sources cured at 25°C and 45°C

under water for 24 h, CIR-emulsion specimens retained the indirect
tensile strength more than CIR-foam specimens.
Effects of Curing on Dynamic Modulus and Flow
Numbers
To predict the performance of CIR mixtures during the curing pro-
cess, the dynamic modulus and repeated load tests were conducted
at various loading conditions and temperatures by using simple per-
formance test (SPT) equipment.
Dynamic Modulus Test
To determine the effects of the curing period on the dynamic modu-
lus of CIR mixtures, for each RAP source, two CIR-foam and two
CIR-emulsion specimens were prepared by using the gyratory com-
pactor at 25 gyrations and cured for 5, 10, 20, 30, and 90 h at a
room temperature. A different curing sequence was adopted for
the dynamic modulus test to capture a significant change in the
dynamic modulus values. The dynamic modulus test was per-
formed at a typical loading frequency of 10 Hz and at 21.1°C.
To allow its full range to be available for the accumulation of
compressive permanent deformation, linear variable differential
transducers (LVDTs) were adjusted near the end of its linear range.
A minimum contact load of 5.0% of the dynamic load was applied
to CIR specimens. A sinusoidal axial compressive load was then
applied to CIR specimens while maintaining the axial strain at
80 microstrain. A strain magnitude of 50–150 microstrain should
be used to achieve a stress level within the viscoelastic response
and, for this research, 80 microstrain was selected not to damage
the specimens with a high moisture content.
Fig. 11 shows the average dynamic modulus values of CIR-
foam and CIR-emulsion specimens from two RAP sources. We
did not test fully cured specimens in the oven. However, because
the 90 h cured specimens at room temperature exhibited a moisture
content of 0:02 ∼ 0:03%, they should be considered fully cured
specimens. The dynamic modulus of Clayton County CIR-emul-
sion specimens was measured after curing up to 20 h because
30 h cured specimens were broken during the test. As expected,
the dynamic modulus increased as curing time increased and mois-
ture content decreased. The dynamic modulus of CIR-foam spec-
imens was higher than that of CIR-emulsion specimens for both
RAP sources. Initially, we thought that this might have been caused
by the higher moisture content in the CIR-emulsion specimens than
the CIR-foam specimens. However, it may not be the additional
moisture that lowered the dynamic modulus because the dynamic
modulus of the fully cured CIR-emulsion specimens with 0.02%
moisture was still less than that of CIR-foam specimens.

JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MAY 2011 / 549

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2011, 23(5): 542-553

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati on 11/07/19. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 8. Average ITS against ranges of moisture content for CIR-foam and CIR-emulsion specimens cured at 25°C and 45°C

Fig. 9. Cured and submerged-cured CIR specimens (photos courtesy of Yongjoo Kim); (a) rain on the CIR layer; (b) cured and submerged-cured CIR
specimen

550 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MAY 2011

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2011, 23(5): 542-553

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati on 11/07/19. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 10. Percent loss of ITS for cured and submerged-cured specimens of CIR-foam and CIR-emulsion specimens from two RAP sources

Fig. 11. Dynamic modulus against curing time for CIR-foam and CIR-emulsion specimens from two RAP sources

The repeated load test was performed with a loading stress of

Repeated Load Test
To determine the effects of curing time on flow numbers of CIR
mixtures, both CIR-foam and CIR-emulsion specimens were pre-
pared by using the gyratory compactor at 25 gyrations and cured for
10 h in air. We decided to cure the specimens for 10 h instead of the
5 h adopted for the indirect tensile strength test because the spec-
imens were taller than the ones used for the indirect tensile test.
After 10 h of air curing, specimens were fully enclosed in a plastic
mold and cured at 45°C for 0, 7, and 14 days. The specimens for the
repeated load test were enclosed to evaluate the rutting potential of
the CIR pavement with a high moisture content after surfacing.
69 kPa at 45°C. The optimum loading stress of 69 kPa was empiri-
cally selected to cause the failure in a specimen at a reasonable
number of repetitions, and the testing temperature of 45°C was se-
lected to represent the temperature of the base layer in summer
(Kim et al. 2009). A flow number (FN) is defined as the number
of loading cycles applied until the beginning of the tertiary flow.
The loading stress was repeatedly applied to the CIR specimens
until they exhibited a tertiary flow. An FN indicates the onset of
a tertiary flow caused by a shear deformation in the CIR mixtures.
FN is a parameter that can be used to evaluate the rutting potential

JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MAY 2011 / 551

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2011, 23(5): 542-553

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati on 11/07/19. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Fig. 12. Cumulative strain against loading cycle for CIR-foam specimens from: (a) Story County; and (b) Clayton County
of the CIR mixtures in the field, and it is required for a specimen to
have an FN of 10,000.
Fig. 12 shows the cumulative strain against the number of load-
ing cycles measured at three different curing conditions for both
CIR-foam and CIR-emulsion specimens from two RAP sources,
Story and Clayton Counties, respectively. The CIR-foam and
CIR-emulsion specimens with a longer curing time exhibited larger
flow numbers, indicating that they would be more resistant to per-
manent deformation. As shown in these figures, the CIR-foam
specimens with RAP materials from Story County failed at the
highest number of loading cycles, whereas the CIR-emulsion spec-
imens with RAP materials from Clayton County failed at the lowest
number of cycles. Overall, the CIR-foam specimens exhibited
larger flow numbers than CIR-emulsion specimens.
552 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MAY 2011
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2011, 23(5): 542-553
Conclusions
Currently, various agencies have differing moisture content require-
ments for the placement of a wearing surface on the basis of mois-
ture content measurements gathered with a nuclear gauge in the
field. The industry standard is either a maximum moisture content
of 1.5% or a curing time of 10–14 days. However, a CIR layer is
often required to carry traffic for many weeks before the placement
of the wearing surface. This would increase the risk of damage to
the CIR layer by traffic loading in an unfavorable climate such as
raining.
The effects of the curing time and the moisture content on the
development of the indirect tensile strength, dynamic modulus, and
flow number were identified. On the basis of the limited laboratory
test results, the following conclusions were derived:
 1. The laboratory test results confirmed that the amount of moist-
ure and length of the curing period significantly affect the
properties of the CIR mixtures.
2. Given the same curing time, CIR-foam specimens exhibited
more tensile strength and less moisture content than CIR-
emulsion specimens.
3. When the cured CIR specimens were submerged in water for
24 h to simulate a raining condition after the CIR layer
was cured, their indirect tensile strength values significantly
decreased.
4. Given the same curing time, the CIR-foam specimens
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati on 11/07/19. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
exhibited higher dynamic modulus than the CIR-emulsion
specimens.
5. CIR-foam exhibited larger flow numbers than CIR-emulsion
specimens. The CIR specimens with a longer curing duration
also exhibited larger flow numbers.
Currently no minimum value requirements exist for indirect ten-
sile strength, stiffness, and flow number. To establish these require-
ments, the moisture level measured in the laboratory should be
verified against the moisture measured in the field by using a
nuclear gauge. In the future, additional research is needed to deter-
mine methods for reducing the moisture sensitivity of a mixture to
account for the inevitable moisture in a CIR layer as a result of the
cracking that occurs in the HMA overlay during its service life.
Acknowledgments
The writers would like to thank the financial support provided by
the Iowa Highway Research Board (IHRB) and the members of the
steering committee for their guidance throughout the project.
The contents of this paper reflect the views of the writers, who
are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the information
presented. The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in
this publication are those of the writers and not necessarily those
of the sponsors. The sponsors assume no liability for the contents or
use of the information contained in this document.
References
Asphalt Institute (AI). (1998). “A basic asphalt emulsion manual.” Manual
Series No. 19, Lexington, KY.
Asphalt Recycling and Reclaiming Association (ARRA). (2001). Basic
asphalt recycling manual, Annapolis, MD, 225–226.
Association Mondiale de la Route (AIPCR) and World Road Association
(PIARC). (2002). “Cold in-place recycling of pavements with emulsion
or foamed bitumen.” Draft Rep., Version 3.1A, La Defense Cedex,
France.
Batista, F., and Antunes, M. (2003). “Pavement rehabilitation using asphalt
cold mixtures.” Proc., MAIRPAV’03 Conf., 3rd Int. Conf. on Mainte-
nance and Rehabilitation of Pavements and Technical Control,
International Society for Concrete Pavements, Bridgeville, PA,
653–662.
Bowering, R. H. (1970). “Properties and behaviors of foamed bitumen
mixtures for road building.” Proc., 5th Australian Road Research
Board (ARRB) Conf., Vol. 6, ARRB, Canberra, Australia, 38–57.
Bowering, R. H., and Martin, C. L. (1976). “Performance of newly
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MAY 2011 / 553
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2011, 23(5): 542-553
constructed full depth foamed bitumen pavements.” Proc., 8th ARRB
Conf., Vol. 8, ARRB, Perth, Australia, 29–36.
Castedo, F. L. H., and Wood, L. E. (1983). “Stabilization with foamed
asphalt of aggregates commonly used in low-volume roads.” Transpor-
tation Research Record 898, Transportation Research Board,
Washington, DC, 297–302.
Cross, S. A. (2003). “Determination of Superpave® gyratory compactor
design compactive effort for cold in-place recycled mixtures.” Trans-
portation Research Record 1819B, Transportation Research Board,
Washington, DC, 152–160.
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). (2009). “Cold in-place recy-
cling state of practice review.” 〈http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/Pavement/
recycling/cir〉, (May 10, 2010).
Jenkins, K. J., and Van de Ven, M. F. C. (1999). “Mix design considerations
for foamed bitumen mixtures.” Proc., Asphalt Pavements for Southern
Africa (CAPSA) ’99 Conf., Asphalt Academy Trust, Pretoria, South
Africa.
Kim, Y., Lee, H., and Heitzman, M. (2007). “Validation of new mix design
procedure for cold in-place recycling with foamed asphalt.” J. Mater.
Civ. Eng., 19(11), 1000–1010.
Kim, Y., Lee, H., and Heitzman, M. (2009). “Dynamic modulus and
repeated load tests of cold in-place recycling mixtures using foamed
asphalt.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 21(6), 279–285.
Lane, B., and Kazmierowski, T. (2003). “Expanded asphalt stabilization on
the Trans-Canada Highway.” Proc., Transportation Research Board
(TRB) 82nd Annual Meeting (CD-ROM), TRB, Washington, DC.
Lee, D. Y. (1981). “Treating marginal aggregates and soil with foamed
asphalt.” Proc., Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists (AAPT),
Vol. 50, AAPT, Lino Lakes, MN, 211–250.
Lee, H., Kim, Y., and Han, B. (2009). “Laboratory performance evaluation
of CIR-emulsion and its comparison against CIR-foam test results from
phase 2,” Final Rep. TR 578, Iowa Highway Research Board (IHRB),
Iowa Dept. of Transportation, Ames, IA.
Lee, K. W., Brayton, T. E., and Harrington, J. (2003). “New mix-design
procedure of cold in-place recycling for pavement rehabilitation.” Proc.,
TRB 82nd Annual Meeting (CD-ROM), TRB, Washington, DC.
Lee, K. W., Brayton, T. E., and Huston, M. (2002). “Development of per-
formance based mix design for cold in-place recycling of bituminous
pavements based on fundamental properties.” FHWA-IF-05-014,
Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC.
Maccarrone, S., Holleran, G., Leonard, D. J., and Hey, S. (1994). “Pave-
ment recycling using foamed asphalt.” Proc., 17th ARRB Conf., Vol. 17,
Issue 3, ARRB, Gold Coast, Australia, 349–365.
Marquis, B., et al. (2003). “Design, construction and early performance of
foamed asphalt full depth reclaimed (FDR) pavement in Maine.” Proc.,
TRB 82nd Annual Meeting (CD-ROM), TRB, Washington, DC.
Muthen, K. M. (1999). “Foamed asphalt mixes—Mix design procedure.”
Contract Rep. No.CR-98/077, Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) Transportek, Pretoria, South Africa.
Roberts, F. L., Engelbrecht, J. C., and Kennedy, T. W. (1984). “Evaluation
of recycled mixtures using foamed asphalt.” Transportation Research
Record 968, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC,
78–85.
Ruckel, P. J., Scott, S. M., and Bowering, R. H. (1982). “Foamed-asphalt
paving mixtures: Preparation of design mixes and treatment of test spec-
imens.” Transportation Research Record 911, Transportation Research
Board, Washington, DC, 88–95.
Sebaaly, P. E., Bazi, G., Hitti, E., Weitzel, D., and Bemanian, S. (2004).
“Performance of cold in-place recycling in Nevada.” Transportation
Research Record 1896, Transportation Research Board, Washington,
DC, 162–169.