1 INTRODUCTION Recycled Asphalt Pavements (RAP) are a sustainable paving method that has many advantages to the pave- ment industry. Recycled asphalt pavements are con- structed using a combination of reclaimed asphalt pavement material and new paving material, where during rehabilitation of pavements the asphalt surface layer is milled and combined with new asphalt binder and aggregate to create a recycled paving mixture. The use of RAP as an alternative to new Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) paving mixes reduces the requirement for quality binder and aggregates for pavement construc- tion and the recycling of existing material preserves valuable resources. In addition to relieving pressure on bitumen supplies, the RAP technology has many bene- fits by providing both economic savings and environ- mental benefits. The attractiveness of RAP as a sus- tainable paving material means an increasing number of pavement practitioners and contractors are utilizing this technology as a method to relieve the pressures on the demand for quality bitumen and aggregates. It has been estimated that in the United States of America (USA) approximately 80% of reclaimed asphalt is re- cycled as pavement material (Federal Highway Ad- ministration, 1993) and in Australia it is estimated that approximately 50% of reclaimed asphalt is being used to produce RAP mixes (Austroads, 2009). In New Zealand, RAP has been utilized in pavement construc- tion for several years, although the allowable propor- tion of reclaimed material in a RAP mix is currently limited to 15% (NZ Transport Agency, 2005). The use of higher proportions of reclaimed material requires the approval of NZ Transport Agency, where it is nec- essary to demonstrate adequate performance of the mixes in trial settings in order to achieve approval for use in practice (Lo Presti et al., 2012). The need for approval to use higher quantities of reclaimed material can limit the widespread use of higher quantities of re- claimed material. Many economic benefits have been observed by the use of 15% of reclaimed material, and it is expected that these benefits can be further in- Characterisation of Recycled Asphalt Pavement Mixes – Comparing New Zealand Experience to International Experience Sachi Kodippily, Dr. Theunis F.P. Henning, & Dr. Douglas Wilson Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Auckland, New Zealand Glynn Holleran & Irina Holleran Fulton Hogan Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand ABSTRACT: Developing technologies that provide sustainable solutions for future pavement construction is vital given the ever-increasing demand on the supply of bitumen and good-quality pavement construction ma- terials. Recycled Asphalt Pavements (RAP) is a technology that presents many benefits in terms of both cost and environmental savings. The presented paper investigated the use of RAP in New Zealand with the aim of establishing RAP as a standard pavement construction technology. The study findings were used to establish performance standards for RAP mixes in New Zealand. In this study laboratory testing was undertaken to characterise the deformation and cracking resistance of as- phalt mixes containing different quantities of RAP. Samples were prepared from three mixes containing 15% RAP, 30% RAP, and a control mix, and the samples were subjected to dynamic modulus, flow number and overlay testing using an Asphalt Mixture Performance Testing machine. The inclusion of 30% RAP resulted in notable increases in the deformation resistance of an asphalt mix, while the inclusion of 15% RAP only had marginal improvements to the performance of an asphalt mix. The presence of 30% RAP however increased the susceptibility of the asphalt mix for strain-controlled reflective cracking. The research results provided a valuable understanding of the performance of RAP and through this research new testing protocols were es- tablished for the use of RAP in the New Zealand context.