Development of Superpave 5 Asphalt Mix Designs for Minnesota Pavements

Summary:

Minnesota’s winter weather is hard on pavement. Cracking result from cold temperatures, precipitation and freeze-thaw cycles. Engineers address pavement issues by designing dense and compactable asphalt mixtures that are more durable against the elements. A new Superpave 5 mix potentially solves this problem. Building on previous MnDOT efforts, researchers tested a range of asphalt mixes used in road projects to understand the correlations between the properties of the asphalt material and pavement densities in the field. With that knowledge, they modified traditional Superpave mixes to develop an asphalt mixture with the same density both in the lab and as constructed on the roadway. Superpave 5 mixtures can be made with local materials, potentially adding little to no additional expensive binders. By changing the proportions of different aggregate sizes in the asphalt mix, pavements can perform better and last longer. MnDOT will use the new mix in pilot projects across the state to determine if any refinements are necessary before making Superpave 5 standard practice.

Final Deliverables:

• Report #2022-18
• Research Summary

Related Materials:

• Improving Asphalt Performance and Durability With Superpave 5  - (Blog Post)

Related Research:

• Experimental and Computational Investigations of High Density Asphalt Mixtures
• Experimental and Computational Investigations of High Density Asphalt Mixtures