Ministry of Transportation, Ontario Test Method LS-805 Rev. No.

34
Laboratory Testing Manual Date: 2020-05-15 Page 1 of 6

PPRACTICE FOR
MIX DESIGN OF COLD RECYCLED MIXTURES
WITH EXPANDED ASPHALT

1. SCOPE
1.1 This document outlines the mix design procedures for cold recycled with expanded asphalt mixtures.
1.2 This document covers requirements for component materials and asphalt mixtures for cold in-place
recycling (CIR) or cold central plant recycling (CCPR) to produce a job mix formula.

2. RELEVANT DOCUMENTS
2.1 MTO Test Methods
LS-200 Penetration of Bituminous Materials
LS-282 Quantitative Extraction of Asphalt Cement and Analysis of Extracted Aggregate from
Bituminous Paving Mixtures
LS-284 Recovery of Asphalt from Solution by Rotary Evaporator
LS-292 Quantitative Determination of Asphalt Cement Content by Ignition and Analysis of Remaining
Aggregate from Bituminous Paving Mixtures
LS-297 Determination of Indirect Tensile Strength of Expanded Asphalt Mixes
LS-313 Preparing and Determining the Density of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Specimens by Means of the
Superpave Gyratory Compactor
LS-601 Materials finer than 75 μm Sieve in Mineral Aggregates by Washing
LS-602 Sieve Analysis of Aggregates
LS-625 Sampling of Aggregate Materials
LS-707 Moisture-Density Relations of Soils Using a 4.54-kg Rammer and a 457-mm Drop

2.2 AASHTO Standards

AASHTO MP 38-18 Standard Specification for Mix Design of Cold Recycled Mixtures with Foamed
Asphalt
AASHTO PP 94-18 Standard Specification for Determination of Optimum Asphalt Content of Cold
Recycled Mixture with Foamed Asphalt

2.3 Other Publications

Cold Recycling Wirtgen Cold Recycling Technology, 1st Edition 2012 (hereinafter ‘Wirtgen manual’)

3. TERMINOLOGY
Active Filler – substances such as Portland cement or hydrated lime that are added to the RAP to
chemically alter the mixture’s properties.
Cold In-place Recycling (CIR) – the process in which the asphalt recycling takes place at the existing
pavement using a recycling train.
Cold Central Plant Recycling (CCPR) – the process in which the asphalt recycling takes place at a central
location using a stationary cold mix plant.
Corrective Aggregate – virgin aggregate or RAP or both added to the mixtures to meet the mix design’s
gradation requirement.
Job Mix Formula (JMF) – the percentage passing on each designed sieve of the total mass of aggregate
and the amount of asphalt cement as a percentage by mass of the mixture.
Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) – removed and/or processed pavement materials containing asphalt
binder and aggregate.
Ministry of Transportation, Ontario Test Method LS-805 Rev. No. 34
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4. PROCEDURE
Mix design procedures shall be in accordance with AASHTO PP 94-18 except as noted below:

5. EXCEPTIONS
5.1 Some references in AASHTO PP 94-18 shall be replaced by MTO Test Methods as listed in
Table 1.
5.2 A minimum of 175 kg of RAP is obtained from the field or from stockpiles. Sampling can be in
the form of cores or slabs, or milled asphalt by milling machine. The diameter for cores can
range from 150 mm to 250 mm, and the typical size for slabs is approximately 300 mm x 300
mm. The material provided must be representative of the material to be recycled.
5.3 Follow LS-284 to extract asphalt cement from enough quantity of RAP and to determine the
recovered penetration of the extracted asphalt cement of RAP according to LS-200.
5.4 Follow the procedures as in the Wirtgen manual to determine the optimum foaming properties
(maximum expansion ratio and half-life) for a particular source of asphalt. The minimum
foaming properties that are acceptable are:
Expansion ratio: 8 times
Half-life: 6 seconds
5.5 Figure 1 shows the determination of the optimum water content for foaming based on the above
minimum expansion ratio and half-life. The temperature and optimum water addition that
produces the best expanded asphalt is reported in the mix design report. If these minimum
requirements cannot be met, the asphalt should be rejected as unsuitable for foaming and
should not be used for the mix design.
5.6 Select a minimum of four expanded asphalt contents in 0.3 percent to 1.0 percent increments
to determine the optimal Indirect Tensile Strength.
5.7 Follow the specimen preparation and testing procedures according to LS-297 for conditioning,
compacting and curing of the specimens.
5.8 Materials requirement shall follow AASHTO MP 38-18 except as noted below:
5.8.1 The selection of the performance-graded (PG) requirement for the expanded asphalt shall be
according to the owner’s relevant specifications.
5.8.2 If Portland cement, quick lime or hydrated lime is used as active filler, it shall meet the owner’s
relevant specifications.
5.8.3 The strength requirement for the cold recycled mixture with expanded asphalt shall meet the
owner’s relevant specifications.

6. REPORTING
Information shall be provided in a legible manner. The documentation required with the mix design
submission is covered by AASHTO PP 94-18. The documents shall include, but are not limited to, the
following information:
6.1 Mix design and JMF documents that are signed, dated, and certified correct by the person
accountable for the engineering and management responsibility for the laboratory that
conducted the work.
6.2 Job mix number and mix design completion date, MTO contract number, highway number and
location, mix design applied chainages, process type (CIR or CCPR), names of the contractor
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and the testing laboratory, dates of sampling, pre-milling depth (if any), processing depth for
RAP.
6.3 Volumetric properties for the mix design mixture selection using a minimum four-point mix
design. Graphs shall be reported for the varying of expanded asphalt contents with dry bulk
relative density, dry and wet Indirect Tensile Strength, and Tensile Strength Ratio, and the
design rate (the optimum percent by mass of expanded asphalt in the mixture) is chosen.
6.4 Extracted and unextracted washed gradation, and amount of extracted asphalt cement for RAP.
Recovered penetration of the extracted asphalt cement.
6.5 Gradation and percent by mass of corrective aggregate added to the mixture, if required.
6.6 JMF for the mixtures showing both the extracted and unextracted gradations.
6.7 Modified Proctor report for RAP (min. 4 points) to show the maximum dry density and the
optimum moisture content of the mixtures, and the amount of water added to the mixtures for
the mix design and in the field.
6.8 Half life and expansion analysis for PGAC (with chart of expansion ratio/half life vs. water
content), and percent of water added for foaming, test equipment (WBL-10 or 30), air pressure
and water pressure.
6.9 Maximum field adjustment rate allowed to the design rate without adverse effects to the
mixture’s properties.
6.10 Type, source and quantity of active filler added to the mixture, if required.
6.11 Percent by mass of fines (aggregate passing 0.075mm sieve) that are returned to the mixtures
to simulate aggregate breakdown during processing., and the resultant change in the
aggregate gradation passing 4.75mm sieve.
6.12 Type and source (supplier and/or manufacturer) of expanded asphalt added to the mixture,
including its manufacturer’s testing report.

An example of a mix design report is attached in Figure 2.

Ministry of Transportation, Ontario Test Method LS-805 Rev. No. 34
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15 15
14 Optimum 14
Water Content
13 13
12 12
Expansion (times)

11 11

Half-life (sec.)
10 10
9 9
Minimum Acceptable
8 8
Expansion Ratio
7 7
Minimum Acceptable
6 6
Equal Equal Half-life
5 5
4 4
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
Water Added (%)

Figure 1: Determining the optimum water content for foaming

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Figure 2: An Example of Mix Design Reprt for Cold Recycled Mixtures with Expanded Asphalt
Ministry of Transportation, Ontario Test Method LS-805 Rev. No. 34
Laboratory Testing Manual Date: 2020-05-15 Page 6 of 6

Table 1: Replacement of References in AASHTO PP 94-18

Original References in AASHTO PP 94-18 Replaced References in this LS

R 90, Sampling Aggregate Products LS-625, Sampling of Aggregate Materials

T 11, Materials Finer Than 75-μm (No. 200) Sieve in Mineral LS-601, Materials Finer Than 75 μm Sieve
Aggregates by Washing in Mineral Aggregates by Washing
T 27, Sieve Analysis of Fine and Coarse Aggregates LS-602, Sieve Analysis of Aggregates

T 30, Mechanical Analysis of Extracted Aggregate LS-282, Quantitative Extraction of Asphalt Cement
T 164, Quantitative Extraction of Asphalt Binder from Hot and Analysis of Extracted Aggregate from Bituminous
Mix Asphalt (HMA) Paving Mixtures
T180, Moisture-Density Relations of Soils Using a 4.54-kg LS-707, Moisture-Density Relations of Soils Using a
Rammer and a 457-mm Drop 4.54-kg Rammer and a 457-mm Drop
T 283, Resistance of Compacted Asphalt Mixtures to LS-297, Determination of Indirect Tensile Strength of
Moisture-Induced Damage Expanded Asphalt Mixes
T 308, Determining the Asphalt Binder Content of Hot Mix LS-292, Quantitative Determination of Asphalt
Asphalt (HMA) by the Ignition Method Cement Content by Ignition and Analysis of
Remaining Aggregate from Bituminous Paving
Mixtures
T 312, Preparing and Determining the Density of Asphalt LS-313, Preparing and Determining the Density of Hot
Mixture Specimens by Means of the Superpave Gyratory Mix Asphalt (HMA) Specimens by Means of the
Compactor Superpave Gyratory Compactor