SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

• Previous asphalt specifications

– physical property specifications
• penetration
• viscosity
• ductility
– conducted at standard test temperatures
– results used to determine if the material meets
specification criteria
– tests are empirical in nature
• results are related to pavement performance through
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 SuperPave Asphalt Specifications
• Penetration test
– indicates stiffness of the asphalt
– relationship between stiffness and pavement
performance has to be gained from experience
• In some tests this relationship may not be very
good
• Current empirical tests and specifications do not
give information for the entire range of typical
pavement temperatures

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 SuperPave Asphalt Specifications
• Viscosity test
– fundamental measure of flow
• only provides information about higher temperature
viscous behavior at the standard test temperatures of
60 C and 135 C
• Penetration test
• only describes consistency at a medium temperature
of 25 C
• lower temperature elastic behavior cannot be
realistically determined from this data to predict low
temperature performance
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 SuperPave Asphalt Specifications
• Empirical asphalt specifications
– can classify different asphalts with the same
grading
– in fact these asphalts may have different
temperature and performance characteristics
– because these asphalts are graded the same one
might erroneously expect the same characteristics
during construction and the same performance
during hot and cold weather conditions

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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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 SuperPave Asphalt Specifications
• Strategic Highway Research Program SHRP -
Canadian component C SHRP
• Began research in 1987 into developing a new
system for specifying asphalt cement and asphalt
mixes
• asphalt cement specifications are referred to as
binder specifications
– intended for both modified and unmodified asphalt
cements

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 SuperPave Asphalt Specifications
• Superpave asphalt binder specification
– new test procedures and new equipment
– specified criteria remains constant but the
temperature at which the criteria must be achieved
changes for various grades
– tests measure physical properties that can be related
directly to field performance by engineering
principles
– tests are conducted at temperatures that are
encountered by in-service pavements
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 SuperPave Asphalt Specifications
• The central theme of the Superpave Binder
Specification is its reliance on testing asphalt
binders in conditions that simulate the three
critical stages during the binder’s life
– tests performed on the original asphalt represent
the first stage of transport, storage and handling
– the second stage represents the asphalt during mix
production and construction and is simulated by
aging the binder in a rolling thin film oven

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 SuperPave Asphalt Specifications
– The thin film oven test exposes thin binder films to
heat and air and approximates the aging of asphalt
during mixing and construction
– The third stage occurs as the binder ages over a
long period of time as part of the hot mix asphalt
pavement layer. This stage is simulated for the
specification by the pressure aging vessel. The
procedure exposes binder samples to heat and
pressure in order to simulate years of in-service
aging in a pavement

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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Superpave Binder Aging Procedures
– Asphalt binder ages:
• volatilization of light oils present in the asphalt
• oxidation by reacting with oxygen in the environment
– Rolling Thin Film Oven Test (RTFOT)
• simulates both types of aging in the mixing and
placement of asphalt mix because of the high
temperatures and air flow involved in the process
– Pressure Aging Vessel (PAV)
• simulates in service aging

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
– Pressure Aging Vessel (PAV)
• simulates in service aging dominated by oxidation
and not volatilization because of the relative
moderate in-service temperatures
• binder samples that have been aged in the PAV have
already been aged in the RTFOT
• Consequently, the PAV residue represents binder
that has been exposed to all of the environmental
conditions to which binders are subjected to during
production and service

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Rolling Thin Film Oven Test (RTFOT)
• AASHTO T240 ASTM D 2872
– provides aged asphalt binder that can be used for
further testing of physical properties
– determines the mass quantity of volatile lost during
the process
• indication of the aging that may occur in the asphalt
during mixing and construction operations
• specified as 1% maximum

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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Pressure Aging Vessel (PAV)
• AASHTO PP1
– simulates the effects of long term in-service aging
of asphalt
– Uses binder that has previously been aged in the
RTFOT since asphalt that is exposed to long term
aging has also been through the mixing and
construction process
– exposes the binder to high pressure and
temperature for 20 hours
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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR)
• AASHTO TP5
– Asphalt Behavior depends on both loading time
and temperature and this test evaluates both effects
– measures rheological properties
• complex shear modulus
• phase angle
– intermediate to high temperatures
– original binder RTFOT & PAV residues

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR)
– used to characterize both elastic and viscous
behavior
– G* (G star) complex shear modulus
• measures the total resistance of the asphalt to
deformation
• elastic component (recoverable deformation)
• viscous component (non-recoverable deformation)
  (delta)
• indicates the relative amounts of recoverable and
non-recoverable deformation
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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Values of G* and  for asphalts are highly
dependant on temperature and frequency of
loading
– High temperatures
• behavior is viscous with no capacity for recovering
or rebounding
 = 90°
– Low temperatures
• behavior is elastic witch rebounds from deformation
 = 0°
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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Superpave asphalt binder specification
– Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR)
• Permanent Deformation
– G*/sin  at test temperature > 1.00 kPa original
binder
– G*/sin  at test temperature > 2.20 kPa RTFOT
binder
• Fatigue Cracking
– G* (sin ) at test temperature < 5000 kPa PAV
binder

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Rotational Viscometer
• ASTM D4402
– used to determine the flow characteristics of the
asphalt binder
– ensure that the asphalt is fluid enough to be
pumped and handled at the hot mix facility
– measured on the original asphalt binder
– test temperature at 135 C
– maximum viscosity 3 Pa s

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR)
• AASHTO TP1
– measures low temperature properties of asphalt that
are too stiff to be measured by the DSR
– BBR (stiffness) used in conjunction with the Direct
Tension Test (strength and stretching ability before
breaking)
– BBR measures deflection or creep under a constant
load and temperature

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests

• Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR)

– test temperatures are related to a pavement’s lowest
service temperature when the asphalt binder acts
more like an elastic solid
– PAV asphalt binder
– test measures the performance characteristics of
binders as if they had been exposed to hot mixing
and some in-service aging

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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR)
– applying a constant load (980mN) to the center of
the asphalt beam and measuring the deflection
during the 4 minute test creep stiffness (S) and creep
rate (m) can be calculated
– creep load simulates thermal stresses that gradually
build up in a pavement when temperature drops
– Creep Stiffness (S) resistance of the binder to creep
loading and the m-value is the change in asphalt
stiffness with time during loading

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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR)
– Low temperature cracking
• Creep Stiffness (S) @ 60s < = 300 Mpa
• S is between 300 to 600 Mpa the Direct Tension test
may be used in lieu of the creep stiffness
requirement
• m value (m) @ 60s > = .3

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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Direct Tension Tester
• AASHTO TP3
– strong relationship between stiffness of asphalt
binders and the amount of stretching they undergo
before breaking
– asphalts that undergo considerable stretching before
failure are called “ductile”
– those that break without much stretching are called
“brittle”
– it is important that asphalts be capable of a minimal
amount of elongation
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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Direct Tension Tester
– typically stiffer asphalts are more brittle and softer
asphalts more ductile
– creep stiffness as measured by the BBR is not
adequate enough to completely characterize the
capacity of asphalts to stretch before breaking
• some asphalts exhibit high creep stiffness but can
also stretch farther before breaking
– therefore SHRP specifications recognize these stiff
but ductile binders
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 Superpave Asphalt Binder Tests
• Direct Tension Tester
– these asphalts are allowed to have high creep
stiffness (300 to 600 Mpa) if they can also display
reasonable ductile behavior at low temperatures
– if creep stiffness < 300 Mpa the direct tension test
is not required
– PAV asphalt binder
– test measures the performance characteristics of
binders as if they had been exposed to hot mixing
and some in-service aging
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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications
Low Temperature Cracking MP1(a)

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 SuperPave Binder Specifications
– Intended to improve performance by limiting the
potential for asphalt to contribute towards
• permanent deformation
• low temperature cracking
• fatigue cracking
– required physical specifications remain constant for
all performance grades (PG)
– the temperatures at which these properties must be
reached vary depending on the climate in which the
binder is expected to be used
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SuperPave Asphalt Specifications

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 Performance Grades M320 (MP1)
CEC

Avg 7-day Max, oC PG 46 PG 52 PG 58 PG 64 PG 70 PG 76 PG 82

1-day Min, oC -34 -40 -46 -10 -16 -22 -28 -34 -40 -46 -16 -22 -28 -34 -40 -10 -16 -22 -28 -34 -40 -10 -16 -22 -28 -34 -40 -10 -16 -22 -28 -34 -10 -16 -22
-28 -34

ORIGINAL
> 230 oC (Flash Point) FP
(Rotational Viscosity) RV
< 3 Pa.s @ 135 oC
(Dynamic Shear Rheometer) DSR G*/sin 
> 1.00 kPa
46 52 58 64 70 76 82

(ROLLING THIN FILM OVEN) RTFO Mass Loss < 1.00 %

(Dynamic Shear Rheometer) DSR G*/sin 

> 2.20 kPa
46 52 58 64 70 76 82

(PRESSURE AGING VESSEL) PAV

20 Hours, 2.07 MPa 90 90 100 100 100 (110) 100 (110) 110 (110)

(Dynamic Shear Rheometer) DSR G* sin 

< 5000 kPa
10 7 4 25 22 19 16 13 10 7 25 22 19 16 13 31 28 25 22 19 16 34 31 28 25 22 19 37 34 31 28 25 40 37 34 28
31

S < 300 MPa m > 0.300 ( Bending Beam Rheometer) BBR “S” Stiffness & “m”- value

-24 -30 -36 0 -6 -12 -18 -24 -30 -36 -6 -12 -18 -24 -30 0 -6 -12 -18 -24 -30 0 -6 -12 -18 -24 -30 0 -6 -12 -18 -24 0 -6 -12
-18 -24

Report Value (Bending Beam Rheometer) BBR Physical Hardening

> 1.00 % (Direct Tension) DT

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-24 -30 -36 0 -6 -12 -18 -24 -30 -36 -6 -12 -18 -24 -30 0 -6 -12 -18 -24 -30 0 -6 -12 -18 -24 -30 0 -6 -12 -18 -24 0 -6 -12
-18 -24
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