Develop Repeatability and Acceptance Criteria of Balanced Mix Design Performance Tests

Balanced mix design (BMD) relies more on laboratory performance tests rather than traditional volumetric criteria to ensure asphalt mixtures with adequate resistance to rutting, cracking, and moisture damage resistance. Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has advanced BMD development and implementation for many years; however, one of the major challenges is the repeatability (or variability) of the key performance tests, including Hamburg wheel tracking test (HWTT), overlay test (OT), ideal cracking test (IDEAL-CT) and ideal rutting test (IDEAL-RT). Variability in these tests can arise from numerous factors, such as equipment differences and operator training. High variability reduces a test’s ability to statistically distinguish changes in mix components (e.g., a 0.5% change in asphalt content), which directly influences mix design, production quality control (QC), quality assurance (QA), and ultimately, pavement field performance. If variability is too large, performance tests based BMD loses its effectiveness; therefore, it is essential to evaluate the variability of these four performance tests and establish rational acceptance criteria for each.

• Record URL:
  • https://library.ctr.utexas.edu/Presto/project=0-7297

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $574,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  0-7297

• 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:

  Smith, Anne

• Performing Organizations:

  Texas A&M Transportation Institute

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

  University of Texas at El Paso

  El Paso, TX  United States 
• Principal Investigators:

  Zhou, Fujie

• Start Date: 20260901
• Expected Completion Date: 20281031
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Asphalt mixtures; Cracking; Mix design; Performance tests; Quality control; Rutting; Test procedures
• Identifier Terms: Texas Department of Transportation
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Materials; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 02001239
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Texas Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 0-7297
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Aug 28 2026 5:24PM