Growing environmental awareness of the depletion of finite natural resources (gas, fuel, etc.) and the continuous rise in greenhouse gas emissions (NOx, CO, CO2, etc.) has driven the road engineering industry to develop technologies for producing asphalt mixes at lower temperatures than traditional hot mix asphalt (HMA). Warm mix asphalts (WMAs) offer a viable alternative to conventional mixes, maintaining both mechanical performance and durability while providing a positive ecological impact. This paper presents an investigative study aimed at analyzing the reuse of waste by-products in the production of WMAs at 140°C. To achieve this, three different waste materials (a zeolite by-product from the petrochemical industry, charred acacia splinters, and charred plastic) were characterized and analyzed as additives for the indirect foaming of WMA. Their mechanical performance was then compared to a reference HMA. The results showed that the zeolite by-product exhibited similar workability and compaction to traditional HMA produced at 160°C, while also demonstrating comparable stiffness modulus, resistance to plastic deformation, and water resistance.

This paper presents the application of the same type of cyclic strain sweep test, the EBADE test, in the characterization of bitumens and mixes. This test employs a consistent methodology and set of parameters—namely, breaking stress, tenacity and dissipated energy at failure—to evaluate fatigue failure resistance in both materials. These parameters are intrinsically interrelated, and based on this relationship, the EBADE diagram was developed to establish a quantitative scale for resistance, ductility and tenacity. This scale facilitates the characterization and comparative analysis of bitumens and bituminous mixtures. The EBADE test and its associated diagram are applied to various penetration-grade and modified bitumens, as well as to the mixtures manufactured from them. The results demonstrate that the differentiating characteristics and advantages ob-served in the bitumen characterization are consistently reflected in the corresponding mixtures. Furthermore, the EBADE test, conducted across a range of temperatures, enables the generation of characteristic curves for both bitumens and mixtures within the EBADE diagram, facilitating a comparative analysis of their respective responses. The findings of this study validate the suitability of using dissipated energy for the characterization of the fatigue resistance of both bitumens and mixtures.