CEEN 043 - Fall 2006

SUPERPAVE Mix Design Calculations (1 of 5)

Determining the Initial Trial Asphalt Binder Content, Pbi:

1. Develop three aggregate blends based on the 0.45 Power Chart analysis such that a fine,
midrange and coarse blend is achieved.

2.Calculate the bulk specific gravity of the aggregate blend, Gsbb:

Gsbb = 100 / 3 %Mi / Gsbi

3. Calculate the apparent specific gravity of the aggregate blend, Gsab:

Gsab = 100 / 3 %Mi / Gsai

4. Estimate the effective specific gravity of the aggregate blend, Gse:

Gse = Gsb + 0.8*(Gsab - Gsbb)

5. Estimate the volume of asphalt binder absorbed into the aggregate, Vba:
Vba = [Ps*(1-Va)] / [Pb/Gb + Ps/Gse] * (1/Gsbb - 1/Gse)

Vba = volume of absorbed binder, cm3/cm3 of mix

Pb = percent of binder (assumed = 0.05)
Ps = percent of aggregate (assumed = 0.95)
Gb = specific gravity of binder (actual = 1.028)
Va = volume of air voids (assumed 0.04 cm3 / cm3 of mix)

6. Estimate the volume of effective binder, Vbe:

Vbe = 0.081 - 0.02931 * Ln(Sn)

Sn = nominal maximum aggregate size, inches

7. Determine the initial trail asphalt binder content, Pbi

Pbi = 100*Gb*(Vbe+Vba) / (Gb*(Vbe+Vba)+Ws)

Ws = weight of aggregate = Ps*(1-Va) / (Pb/Gb+Ps/Gse)

Pbi = initial trial binder content, % by weight of mix
 CEEN 043 - Fall 2006
SUPERPAVE Mix Design Calculations (2 of 5)

Sample Preparation:

1. Combine the aggregate blends to provide 2 4500 g samples for compaction and one 2000g
sample for determining maximum theoretical specific gravity, Gmm.

2. Blend the aggregates with binder using the appropriate initial trial asphalt binder content for
each blend.

3. The specimens are then short-term aged in a forced draft oven for 4 hours and then brought to
compaction temperature. The specimens are then compacted or allowed to cool loose for Gmm
determination.

4. The 2 replicate specimens are then compacted to Nmax using the gyratory compactor. During
compaction, the specimen height is continually monitored during each revolution (gyration) of
the compactor. Knowing the specimen height, the estimated bulk volume, Vbulk-est can be
determined at any level of gyrations assuming a smooth sided cylinder:
Vbulk-est = π D2 H / 4

Vbulk-est = bulk volume, cm3

D = diameter of mold = 15 cm
H = specimen height, cm

5. After compaction, the specimen is allowed to cool and the mass determined, Wair

6. The estimated bulk specific gravity of the compacted mix, Gmb-est, is determined for any
level of gyrations:
Gmb-est = Wair / Vbulk-est

7. The actual bulk volume, Vbulk-act, is determined by vacuum sealing the compacted specimen
and then weighing in air and submerged in water:
Vbulk-act = Wair - Wsub
Vbulk-act = actual bulk volume, cm3
Wair = sample weight in air, g
Wsub = submerged sample weight, g

8. The actual bulk specific gravity of the compacted specimen, Gmb-act, is determined:
Gmb-act = Wair / Vbulk-act

9. The theoretical maximum specific gravity of the mix, Gmm, is determined for the
uncompacted specimen by vacuum sealing the specimen and then weighing in air and submerged
in water:
Gmm = Wair / (Wair - Wsub)
 CEEN 043 - Fall 2006
SUPERPAVE Mix Design Calculations (3 of 5)

10. A correction factor, C, for converting Gmb-est to Gmb-act for any level of gyrations is
computed based on the analysis of the specimen compacted to Nmax:
C = Gmb-act @Nmax / Gmb-est @Nmax

11. The corrected percent of theoretical maximum density, %Gmm, is determined at any level of
gyrations:

%Gmm-corr = C * Gmb-est / Gmm

12. The test result for each pair of replicate specimens are then averaged for each selected level
of gyrations and then plotted on a semi-log plot of %Gmm-corr vs Log N. The percent of
theoretical maximum density is determined for Nini, Ndes, and Nmax using the data table or
from interpolation of the graph.

13. The percent air voids at Ndes, Va, is then determined as:
Va @ Ndes= 100 - %Gmm-corr @ Ndes

14. The % voids in the mineral aggregate, %VMA, is determined at Ndes

%VMA = 100 - (%Gmm-corr * Gmm * Ps / Gsbb)

Ps = percent aggregate = 1 - Pbi/100

15. If the %Gmm-corr @ Ndes does not equal 96.0 (4% Air Voids), an estimated binder content
to achieve 4% Air @ Ndes, Pb-est, is calculated as:
Pb-est = Pbi - (0.4*(4-Va))

16. The estimated %VMA and %VFA (Voids filled with asphalt) for the new Pb-est are then
determined as:
%VMA-est = %VMA + C*(4-Va)
C = 0.1 if Va < 4.0 and 0.2 if Va > 4.0
%VFA-est = 100 * (%VMA-est - 4.0) / %VMA-est

17. The estimated %Gmm at Nini and Nmax for the new Pb-est are then computed as:
%Gmm-est @ Nini = %Gmm-corr @ Nini - (4.0 - Va)
%Gmm-est @ Nmax = %Gmm-corr @ Nmax - (4.0 - Va)

18. The estimated dust proportion is calculated as:

DP = %P200 / Pbe-est

%P200 = % passing the #200 sieve (0.075 mm) for the aggregate blend
Pbe-est = Pb-est - (Ps-est*Gb) * (Gse - Gsbb) / (Gse * Gsbb)
Ps-est = estimated aggregate content = 1 - Pb-est/100
 CEEN 043 - Fall 2006
SUPERPAVE Mix Design Calculations (4 of 5)

The results of the analysis of each aggregate blend are then compared to specification values to
determine which, if any, blend meets all criteria. If none of the mixes meet all criteria, the entire
process is restarted with alternate aggregate sources ar different blend proportions. If more than
1 aggregate blend meets all criteria, a cost analysis of the resulting mixes should be conducted to
determine which mix would be the most economical to produce. Once a final mix is identified,
additional specimens are prepared and compacted using varying binder contents. A minimum of
two specimens are compacted at each of the following binder contents: Pb-est, Pb-est +/- 0.5%,
and Pb-est + 1.0%. The results of the tests are then used to determine the design binder content
used for production.

For our class SUPERPAVE mix design, the following design specifications should be used:

Nini = 8 Ndes = 100 Nmax = 160

%Gmm @ Ndes = 96.0% (4.0% Air)

%Gmm @ Nini = 89% maximum
%Gmm @ Nmax = 98% maximum

%VMA @ Ndes = 15.0% minimum

%VFA @ Ndes = 65% - 75%

DP = 0.6 - 1.2

FAA for the aggregate blend = 45 minimum

%Fractured for the aggregate blend = 90 / 85 minimum

 CEEN 043 - Fall 2006
SUPERPAVE Mix Design Calculations (5 of 5)

The specified aggregate blend proportions should be used to determine the gradation of each
blend. These gradations should be used to determine the nominal maximum aggregate size and
then plotted on a 0.45 Power Chart to ensure that each meets criteria, i.e, gradation curve passes
through all control points and does not enter restricted zone from below. Control points and
restricted zones can be selected from the following tables.

SUPERPAVE Aggregate Gradation Control Points

Sieve 25.4 mm Nom Max 19.0 mm Nom Max 12.5 mm Nom Max 9.5 mm Nom Max
Size, mm
Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Max

37.5 100
25.4 90 100 100
19.0 90 100 100
12.5 90 100 100
9.5 90 100
2.36 19 - 23 - 28 - 32 -
0.075 1 7 2 8 2 10 2 10