Full Depth Reclamation

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Primary Resource

As with all pavement design and construction processes, project selection is of great importance. Before creating a specification for your FDR project, review the ARRA recommended guidelines for resources in design, testing, quality control, measurement and payment procedures for your project. There are many factors to consider after reviewing the ARRA guidelines, and your project may need slight adjustments to meet the localized conditions of your project.


Helpful Guidelines

Complete FDR best practice guidelines for construction are contained in FDR101, FDR102 and FDR103 for bituminous, cementitious and lime stabilization, respectively. Recommended quality control checks are contained in FDR301 and FDR302. As General rules of thumb, follow the below points and recommendations:

  • Check depth of pulverizing and/or depth of mixing by removing the reclaimed material on each side of the reclaimer and checking the depth. 
  • Verify maximum particle size of pulverized material
  • Check the application rate of Bituminous stabilizing agent by evaluating the mass of recycled material against the volume of recycling agent used for a single tanker.
  • For foamed asphalt stabilization, check the temperature of the asphalt before connecting a tanker to the recycling unit or mixer.
  • For foamed asphalt stabilization, verify the expansion ratio and half-life using the test nozzle on the reclaimer.
  • Verify application rate of dry stabilizing agents either volumetrically or by using a standard “canvas patch” test, or similar procedure.
  • Verify application of slurry stabilizing agents using the consumption of stabilizing agent (and water) obtained from the computer that controls the slurry mixing unit.
  • Determine percent compaction by comparing the in-place density to the target density, typically a percentage of maximum dry density established from a moisture density test. If the uniformity of the mixture changes significantly re-establish the target density.
  • Check surface tolerance with a 10-foot (3-m) straight edge utilizing a wedge ruler that can slide between the pavement/straight edge interface to accurately measure the gap.

Additional Resources

Guide to Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR) with Cement. National Concrete Pavement Technology Center, Institution for Transportation, Iowa State University, Portland Cement Association, March 2017