Cousins to full-depth reclamation, hot in-place recycling (HIPR) or cold in-place recycling (CIPR) methods are small but modestly growing segments of pavement preservation. Both methods can help conserve materials and resources and create a smaller carbon footprint.
Using these processes, the existing pavement is milled, then mixed with a recycling agent, repaved and compacted. The working equipment can be lined up in sequence, hence the term “recycling train” or “equipment train.” As with full-depth reclamation, a reclaimer or recycler is referenced as single-machine paving. In both cases, the steps involve pulverizing/crushing, adding and mixing a recycling agent and paving.
In material savings, it is estimated these methods can reuse up to 85 percent of the pavement. Another advantage is that traffic can be put back on the pavement faster than in traditional paving.
But these methods are not for every roadway, as one limitation for both methods is traffic volume.
This cold method is still considered an application for moderate- to low-volume roadways that do not have major underlying structural issues, such as deep cracking, poor draining, pumping and saturated subgrade materials.
