Develop a Balanced Asphalt Mixture Design Procedure

Details

• Creators:
  Hossain, Md Saddam ; Tarefder, Rafi
• Corporate Creators:
  University of New Mexico. School of Civil Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  New Mexico. Department of Transportation. Research Bureau ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Asphalt Mixtures Cracking FMRH HWTT IDEAL-CT IDEAL-RT IFIT LCSTA Mix Design Performance Procedures Rutting State Departments Of Transportation Superpave Testing

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  456-377
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; New Mexico
• Edition:
  Final Report: 6/24/2022– 6/23/2026
• Corporate Publisher:
  New Mexico. Department of Transportation. Research Bureau
• Abstract:
  Balanced Mix Design (BMD) is a performance-based approach that supplements the traditional Superpave volumetric mix design process with laboratory performance testing to achieve an appropriate balance between rutting resistance and cracking resistance. This study was conducted to develop a practical BMD framework and preliminary performance criteria for asphalt mixtures used by the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT). A comprehensive review of BMD implementation practices adopted by state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) was performed to identify commonly used performance tests and benchmark threshold values. Based on this review, a performance-modified volumetric design procedure was developed for New Mexico. Rutting and cracking performance were evaluated using the Hamburg Wheel Tracking Test (HWTT), Illinois Flexibility Index Test (I-FIT), IDEAL Rutting Test (IDEAL-RT), and IDEAL Cracking Test (IDEAL-CT). Three performance-index-based methods were proposed to determine the balanced asphalt content (AC%): (1) the HWTT–I-FIT relative performance index, (2) the IDEAL-RT–IDEAL-CT relative performance index, and (3) a combined performance index integrating all four tests. A total of nineteen asphalt mixtures representative of New Mexico materials and production practices were evaluated, including eleven laboratory-compacted short-term aged (LCSTA) mixtures and eight field-produced reheated (FMRH) mixtures. Based on the selected rutting and cracking criteria, each mixture was classified as balanced or unbalanced, and the resulting dataset was used to establish preliminary New Mexico-specific performance thresholds for BMD implementation. The recommended performance criteria include a minimum of 10,000, 15,000, and 20,000 Hamburg Wheel Tracking Test passes to reach 6 mm rut depth for mixtures containing PG 64, PG 70, and PG 76 binders, respectively; a minimum Flexibility Index (FI) of 8 (preferred ≥ 10); a minimum CT Index of 75 (preferred ≥ 100); and a minimum RT Index of 80 (preferred ≥ 100). The proposed BMD framework and associated performance criteria provide a practical basis for implementing Balanced Mix Design for NMDOT.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  C06371
• Collection(s):
  Federal Highway Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3913a4cefb588f2de14edde9b26005287545b22d40774173ea282747ed865d67fe860ad9a2866c98a83a72b2f61f319f58a5029f403553ac9e37631966cd8b43
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/92449/dot_92449_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 8.14 MB ]