Superpave Models: Predicting Performance During Design and Construction

The Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) spent $50 million researching asphalt binders and asphalt mixtures and provided three main products: an asphalt binder specification, an asphalt mixture specification, and Superpave, an asphalt mixture design system that encompasses both the binder and mixture specification. SHRP researchers have provided tools that promise more robust asphalt mixtures with reduced risk of premature failure. Implementation of the specifications and mix design system will require overcoming several obstacles. Superpave must be demonstrated to be practical and easy to use. The impact of Superpave aggregate requirements on aggregate availability must be determined. The Superpave gyratory compaction procedure has been uniquely defined and then calibrated to traffic volume. The reasonableness of this approach must be tested in widespread application. Perhaps the largest implementation hurdle exists in the performance models. Expensive test equipment is necessary to do the performance-based tests. The performance predictions must be established as reasonable to justify the cost. A highway reconstruction project containing three Superpave Level 1 mix designs is documented including quality control done with the Superpave gyratory compactor. Superpave Level 2 performance-based tests were carried out to predict permanent deformation of the design and the mixture as constructed. The performance-based engineering properties obtained from the tests are evaluated, and the reasonableness of the performance prediction models is discussed.