QUALITY MANAGEMENT OF HMA CONSTRUCTION USING SUPERPAVE EQUIPMENT: A CASE STUDY

This report describes the results of a case study to evaluate the quality management of asphalt mixtures using equipment developed as part of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP). The final product of SHRP was a collection of products known as Superpave (Trademark) (SUperior PERforming asphalt PAVEments). SHRP research involved the development of the Superpave system. While much asphalt mixtures work was performed in the laboratory, very little had been attempted in practice. This case study focused on the testing and field quality control of an intermediate course mixture on an interstate highway in Lexington, Kentucky. Specifically, a field sampling and testing plan was initialized to examine the sensitivity of the Superpave Gyratory Compactor (SGC) to changes in materials components. In addition to evaluating the SGC, Marshall specimens were produced and analyzed. In this manner, both compaction techniques were directly compared. Test results indicated that the SGC procedure is highly sensitive to changes in materials components, particularly asphalt content and dust content. In addition, the SGC procedure resulted in specimens with reduced variability within a set. The testing time was not significantly increased using the SGC procedure compared to the Marshall procedure.