Demonstration and Purchase of PG Binder Testing Equipment

To help expedite the implementation of the Superpave methods in the mid-1990's, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) conducted a Pooled Fund project that allowed state transportation agencies to purchase shares in this Pooled Fund. Each share provided the state transportation agency with one full set of Superpave test equipment - both for the asphalt binder and the hot mix asphalt (HMA). The pooling of funds gave the states greater purchasing power that resulted lower costs as compared to states purchasing the equipment individually. The majority of the equipment that was purchased under the Pooled Fund was for testing of asphalt binder in accordance with the Performance Grading (PG) system. The binder testing equipment is highly sophisticated and contains sensitive electronics for making the necessary measurements. As most of this equipment has been in service for approximately 15 years, it is nearing the end of its service life and manufacturers are no longer carrying repair parts. With the advent of new test methods such as the Multiple Stress Creep Recovery Test, older direct-shear (DSR) equipment is either not able to run these tests or the results are suspect because of the limitations of the older equipment. States must replace this equipment in order to adopt these new and improved test methods. The objective of this project is to conduct a Pooled Fund project similar to the one conducted earlier by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), here in the northeastern part of the country. In Phase 1, researchers will arrange for participating state departments of transportation (DOTs) a demonstration of lab equipment options for performance grade (PG) binder testing. Then in a second phase, CAP Lab will facilitate a pooled-fund purchase of asphalt-binder laboratory test equipment for interested states DOTs.

• Record URL:
  http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/464

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $697773
• Contract Numbers:

  TPF-5(236)

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Connecticut Department of Transportation

  2800 Berlin Turnpike
  Newington, CT  United States  06131

  Maine Department of Transportation

  16 Statehouse Station
  Augusta, ME  United States  04333

  New Hampshire Department of Transportation

  John O. Morton Building
  P.O. Box 483
  Concord, NH  United States  03302-0483

  Vermont Agency of Transportation

  1 National Life Drive
  Drawer 33
  Montpelier, VT  United States  5633

  Rhode Island Department of Transportation

  Two Capitol Hill
  Providence, RI  United States  02903-1124

  Oklahoma Transportation

  200 NE 21st Street
  Oklahoma City, OK  United States  73105

  New York State Department of Transportation

  50 Wolf Road
  Albany, NY  United States  12232

  Massachusetts Department of Transportation

  10 Park Plaza
  Boston, MA  United States  02116
• Project Managers:

  Fallon, James

• Performing Organizations:

  University of Connecticut, Storrs

  Storrs, CT  United States  06268-5202
• Principal Investigators:

  Mahoney, James

• Start Date: 20110201
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 20130630
• Source Data: RiP Project 29816

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Binders; Hot mix asphalt; Superpave; Technological innovations; Testing equipment
• Identifier Terms: Multiple Stress Creep Recovery
• Uncontrolled Terms: Performance grade
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01566748
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
• Contract Numbers: TPF-5(236)
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jun 22 2015 1:00AM