State of art literature review on the mechanical, functional and long-term performance of cold mix asphalt mixtures

Road networks play a vital role in both the social and economic development of a country, however, the engineering techniques used to design and maintain pavements are heavily funded by the extensive use of money, energy and raw materials. The necessity for effective sustainable road networks with the capability of supporting higher traffic loads is evident in expanding and developing cities. With recent technological advancements in the asphalt industry, cold mix asphalt is sought as the new approach to a more sustainable form of asphalt due to its reduced embodied energy mainly achieved through the absence of having to heat constituent materials at such high temperatures which in turn decreases overall construction costs. Over the last three decades, more new innovative modifiers have been used within cold mix asphalt demonstrating improvements in mechanical properties, some of which outperformed conventional hot mix asphalt. This state of art review concentrates on the mixture parameters, the functional and mechanical properties of various cold mix asphalt specimens, both modified and unmodified, while providing insight on the use and effect of a range of modifiers.