Develop Rapid New Tests for Detecting Poor Quality Binders and RAP Materials

Asphalt binders are one of the most expensive and critical materials used in the construction of the roadways in Texas, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually. It has been widely recognized that asphalt binders with the same performance grade (PG) can perform very differently due to changes in crude source, refining processes used, modification technique, and other factors. Several districts recently reported early cracking issues with some mixes which had historically performed well, while other districts had mix design and quality assurance (QA) problems when the binder source was switched and/or a different recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) stockpile was used. Thus, the objective of this project is to develop rapid new tests for detecting poor quality binders and RAP materials. To achieve this objective, the research teams will review the literature to identify candidate tests that can be used for screening binders and RAP materials. The research teams will further refine the most promising tests using laboratory mixture performance tests as a benchmark. The research teams will also provide a standard test method and specification limit for each of the final test methods.

• Record URL:
  https://library.ctr.utexas.edu/Presto/project=7145

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $1,054,240
• Contract Numbers:

  0-7145

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Texas Department of Transportation

  125 E. 11th Street
  Austin, TX  United States  78701-2483
• Managing Organizations:

  Texas Department of Transportation

  125 E. 11th Street
  Austin, TX  United States  78701-2483
• Project Managers:

  Jensen, Darrin

• Performing Organizations:

  Texas A&M Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System
  3135 TAMU
  College Station, TX  United States  77843-3135

  Center for Transportation Research

  3925 W. Braker Lane
  Austin, TX  United States  78759
• Principal Investigators:

  Zhou, Fujie

• Start Date: 20220901
• Expected Completion Date: 20250831
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Binders; Pavement performance; Quality assurance; Recycled materials; Test procedures
• Subject Areas: Construction; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Materials; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01863340
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Texas Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 0-7145
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Nov 3 2022 3:18PM