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Comparative evaluation of hot-mix asphalt design

methods
a a b c
Juraidah Ahmad , Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman , Mohd Rosli Hainin & Mustaque Hossain
a
Institute of Infrastructure and Sustainable Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering,
Universiti Teknologi MARA , 40450 , Shah Alam , Selangor , Malaysia
b
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia , 81310 UTM Skudai , Johor ,
Malaysia
c
Department of Civil Engineering , Kansas State University , Manhattan , KS , 66506 , USA
Published online: 15 Apr 2011.

To cite this article: Juraidah Ahmad , Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman , Mohd Rosli Hainin & Mustaque Hossain (2012) Comparative
evaluation of hot-mix asphalt design methods, International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 13:2, 89-97, DOI:
10.1080/10298436.2011.565765

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 International Journal of Pavement Engineering
Vol. 13, No. 2, April 2012, 89–97

Comparative evaluation of hot-mix asphalt design methods

Juraidah Ahmada*, Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahmana,1, Mohd Rosli Haininb,2 and Mustaque Hossainc,3
a
Institute of Infrastructure and Sustainable Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam,
Selangor, Malaysia; bFaculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor, Malaysia; cDepartment of
Civil Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
(Received 23 April 2009; final version received 19 February 2011)

This study was done to evaluate superior performing asphalt pavements (Superpave) mixture design using local materials in
Malaysia. Comparison was also done with the conventional Marshall method-designed mixture conforming to the
specifications of the Malaysia Public Works Department (PWD). The experimental plan consisted of a matrix involving one
granite aggregate source, two different aggregate gradation and two different asphalt binder types. Local granite aggregates
being produced presently were found to conform to the consensus and source aggregate properties criteria of the Superpave
Downloaded by [University of Chicago Library] at 13:13 26 December 2014

mixture design system. Mixture volumetric properties showed that Superpave-designed mixture uses less asphalt binder than
the PWD Marshall mixture. Rutting and moisture susceptibility tests showed that Superpave-designed mixtures are more
resistant to rutting and moisture damage compared with the PWD mixture. Mixture characterisation tests showed that
Superpave mixtures have higher stiffness than the PWD mixture. These indicate that Superpave-designed mixtures are
superior to the PWD Marshall-designed mixture.
Keywords: Superpave-designed mixture; Marshall-designed mixture; permanent deformation; mixture characterisation

1. Introduction many other countries. However, in the 1980s, it was

A major concern today in Malaysian highway industry is the
excessive rutting (permanent deformation) and moisture-
induced damages in hot-mixture asphalt (HMA) pavements
resulting from frequent repetitions of heavy axle loads and
wet tropical climate. Premature failure of newly constructed
pavements could happen as early as within 2 years of
construction. This is evident from the observations by the
Public Works Department (PWD) and the huge amount of
money being allocated annually for maintenance work.
Currently, the Jabatan Kerja Raya Malaysia Specification
for Roadworks (JKR/SPJ/2008) is the standard specification
for road works used by PWD, Malaysia, for designing
pavements. The Marshall mixture design method was
adopted for designing HMA mixtures in Malaysia.
According to Roberts et al. (2002), the Hubbard–Field
method was the first formal design method for asphalt
mixtures developed to design sand–asphalt mixtures, and in
1959, the final form of the Hveem method of asphalt mixture
design had been finalised and the complete procedure was
described in the Asphalt Institute Manual Series 2 and in
ASTM 1557. Prior to 1943, a Marshall mixture design
method was developed by Bruce Marshall in an attempt to
produce a procedure that could determine asphalt content of
mixtures in the laboratory. The Marshall mixture design
method was widely used not only in the USA but also in
observed that problems such as premature rutting occurred
during service life of pavement in many freeways. The
impact compaction used to produce the specimens was
believed to be the problems by many engineers. The
Marshall mixture design procedure is empirical and the
impact method of compaction does not simulate densifica-
tion that occurs under traffic in a real pavement (Roberts
et al. 2002). In 1987, the transition of mixture design method
from Marshall to Superpave method began with a large fund
addressed in the Strategic Highway Research Program.
A new performance-based mixture design methodology
known as Superpave, an acronym for superior performing
asphalt pavements, was developed in 1993. Superpave has
been implemented by most of the states in the USA. Hence,
it is timely for PWD to initiate a paradigm shift to enhance
or adopt a better design system for the HMA mixture. With
that in mind, this study was initiated to evaluate performance
of Superpave-designed HMA mixtures in Malaysia.
2. Experimental work
This study was divided into two phases. The first phase of
this study focused on designing HMA mixtures using the
Superpave mixture design method and also by the
conventional Marshall method. Prior to the mixture design
process, local aggregate properties were also evaluated for

*Corresponding author. Email: juraidah@salam.uitm.edu.my

ISSN 1029-8436 print/ISSN 1477-268X online
q 2012 Taylor & Francis
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2011.565765
http://www.tandfonline.com
 90 J. Ahmad et al.

compliance with the stringent consensus and source Table 1. QS aggregate properties.
aggregate properties in the Superpave system. The
Property Results Criteria
applicable aggregate criteria for the Marshall mixture
design in the JKR specifications were also checked. Consensus properties
For comparison purposes, eight mixtures were designed Coarse aggregate angularity 75% 55 – 100%
Fine aggregate angularity 52% . 45
– four were Marshall-designed mixtures and the rest were Flat and elongated sand 6.75% 10 (max)
Superpave-designed mixture. Quarry QS, located in Equivalent 47.9% . 45%
Selangor which supplies aggregates for road construction Source properties
in the greater Kuala Lumpur area, was selected in this study. Soundness 6% .10 – 20%
The aggregate gradations for all mixtures were purposely Toughness 10% , 45%
Deleterious material 0.3% 0.2– 10%
selected to fall within the upper and lower limits in PWD requirements
compliance with the PWD and Superpave gradations. Aggregate impact value 19% , 30%
The climatic condition in Malaysia is fairly consistent Aggregate crushing value 21% , 30%
throughout the country and the supply of performance- 10% Fines 270 kN .100 kN
graded (PG) asphalt binder in this region is based on Water absorption 0.3% ,2%
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the higher temperature. The lower temperature is not

considered. In this research, asphalt binders PG 64 (B1) and
PG 70 (B2) were used. These binders are equivalent to
Penetration Grade (PEN) 80/100 and PEN 60/70,
respectively.
The mixture characteristics and performance of the
HMA mixtures from Phase 1 were evaluated in Phase 2.
The moisture susceptibility and rutting tests were
conducted to evaluate the permanent deformation of
HMA, and characterisation of mixtures was conducted
from resilient modulus and dynamic creep test.
3. Volumetric properties evaluation of HMA
The aggregate properties meet both the Superpave and
PWD criteria of acceptance for use in HMA mixture
design as shown in Table 1. The consensus properties
include coarse aggregate angularity, fine aggregate
angularity, elongation and flakiness, and clay content.
The source properties include toughness, soundness and
deleterious materials.
The project traffic level chosen for both mixture design
was medium to high traffic. For PWD mixture, the
specimens were compacted with 75 blows per face to
achieve design density which is equivalent to 60–30 million
equivalent single axle loads (ESALs) for the Superpave
mixture design method. Thus, the number of gyrations of
100 was used to prepare Superpave specimens. Figures 1 and
2 show the design aggregate structures developed to meet
both Superpave and PWD gradation limits for nominal max
aggregate size (NMAS) of 12.5 and 9.5 mm, respectively.
All mixtures were prepared with blended mineral
aggregates at an increment of 0.5% of asphalt binder from
4 to 7% by weight. For PWD mixture, optimum binder
content (OBC) was estimated corresponding to 4% design
air voids, bulk density, voids filled with asphalt (VFA) and

100

90 Marshall
upper limit
80

70
Percent passing

60
Superpave
50 upper limit
40 Marshall
lower limit
30
Superpave
20 lower limit
10

0
0.075
0.15
0.30
0.60

1.18

2.36

4.75

9.50

12.50

19.00

25.00

Sieve size (mm)

Figure 1. Gradation of NMAS 12.5 mm.

 International Journal of Pavement Engineering 91

100

90

80

70 Superpave
Percent passing upper limit
60
Marshall
50 lower limit
Marshall
40 upper limit
Superpave
30 lower limit
20

10

0
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0.075
0.15
0.30
0.60

1.18

2.36

4.75

9.50

12.50
Sieve size (mm)

Figure 2. Gradation of NMAS 9.5 mm.

flow values. The Superpave-designed specimens, when
blended at OBC, should yield acceptable volumetric
properties based on the established Superpave criteria. The
Superpave specimens were compacted using a Superpave
Gyratory Compactor (SGC). The compactive effort was
based on 6,000,000 ESALs and the compaction parameters
were initial compaction (Nini ¼ 8 gyrations), design
compaction (Ndes ¼ 100 gyration) and maximum compac-
tion (Nmax ¼ 160 gyrations). The dimension of each
compacted specimen was 150 mm in diameter and was
approximately between 110 and 120 mm in height,
depending on the weight of mixtures. Each specimen was
compacted to Ndes gyrations and the estimated bulk specific
gravity (Gmb) and theoretical maximum specific gravity
(Gmm) of the mixture were determined. The OBC for the
Superpave-designed mixture was then established to obtain
acceptable volumetric properties at 4% air voids. The
volumetric properties are voids in mineral aggregates
(VMA), VFA, air voids and dust proportion (DP). The
volumetric properties of the design mixtures corresponding
to OBC for both mixture types are tabulated in Table 2.
The OBC of a Superpave-designed mixture was less
than that of the PWD HMA mixture of the same nominal
maximum aggregate size. This agrees with the studies
conducted by Asi (2007), Swami et al. (2004) and Wang
et al. (2000). Although both PWD and Superpave mixtures
met the criteria set by the individual mixture design
method, OBC of the PWD mixture is approximately 0.5%
higher than that of the Superpave mixture. This means that
for similar design aggregate structure, Superpave-designed
mixtures need less asphalt binder. This phenomenon
may be observed due to different compaction methods.

Table 2. Volumetric properties of QS mixtures.

Mix design
properties 12.5-B1 12.5-B2 9.5-B1 9.5-B2 Criteria
PWD-designed mixtures
OBC (%) 5.6 5.9 6.1 6.2 –
Stability (kN) 10.2 10.1 10.2 11.0 . 8 kN
Flow (mm) 3.5 3.5 3.2 3.3 2 –4 mm
VFA (%) 75 75 75 77 70 – 80
Superpave-designed mixtures
OBC (%) 5.1 5.3 5.4 5.7 –
Air voids (%) 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4%
VMA (%) 14.9 15.8 15.7 16.5 14 mina
VFA (%) 73.1 74.4 74.6 75.7 65 –76b
DP 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.6– 1.2

Note: B1-asphalt binder refers to PG 64 and B2 refers to PG70.

a
For NMAS 9.5, VFA range shall be 65 –76% and NMAS 12.5 VFA range shall be 65 –75%.
b
For NMAS 9.5, VMA is specified as 15 (min).
 92 J. Ahmad et al.

18
considering the freeze –thaw process being used. The
QS-Superpave specimens compacted have the same average air voids of
R2 = 0.9952
QS-PWD 7 ^ 0.5% and were divided into two subsets. As the
17
weather in Malaysia is consistent throughout the year, the
R2 = 0.9248
VMA (%)

moisture susceptibility test of these specimens only

16 considered vacuum saturation between 70 and 80%. The
specimens were first conditioned in a water bath at 608C
15 for 24 h. Next, the specimens were then transferred and
conditioned in a water bath at 258C for 2 h prior to testing.
The indirect tensile strength (ITS) results of unconditioned
14
4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 and conditioned specimens were used to determine tensile
OBC (%) strength ratio (TSR) as tabulated in Table 3. The ITS for
unconditioned and conditioned Superpave mixtures was
Figure 3. Relationship between OBC and VMA. averaged and ITS loss values for the Superpave mixtures
were calculated at 9.1%. This conformed to the 20%
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The OBC of QS-9.5 mixtures is higher than that for QS-12.5
mixture because the surface area of finer aggregates needs
more asphalt to coat the aggregates. The minimum VMA
requirement is an important indication to incorporate the
least minimum permissible binder into mixture to ensure
durability. A relationship using a correlation technique
was conducted to determine the existence of a linear
relationship between OBC and per cent VMA. The
R 2 values showed a strong linear relationship between
OBC and VMA for these mixtures as shown in Figure 3.
4. Evaluation of HMA pavement performance
Evaluation of pavement performance is very important to
determine the susceptibility and resistance of HMA
mixture towards permanent deformation. In this study,
rutting and moisture susceptibility tests were conducted
to determine the resistance to permanent deformation
and moisture damage, respectively. Resilient modulus
and dynamic creep tests were also conducted to
characterise the mixtures.
4.1 Moisture susceptibility test
Currently, in Malaysia, no specific procedure is used to
determine the moisture susceptibility of HMA. However,
the test follows the AASHTO T283 procedure without
allowable loss-limit value according to the Superpave
specifications (Asphalt Institute 2001). A schematic
diagram of the moisture susceptibility test and setup is
as shown in Figure 4.
4.2 Rutting test
Rutting test was conducted in dry condition at 608C using
the Wessex wheel-tracking device and the tests were
conducted in accordance with BS 598 standard. The
specimens were subjected to simulated trafficking with a
simple harmonic motion by applying 525 N loads for 1 h.
The linear variable displacement transducer (LVDT)
monitors the rut depth at the centre of the slab. The
Superpave specimens were prepared using SGC of
diameter 150 mm and final height of 65 mm and the
PWD specimens were prepared as slab with dimensions
of 305 £ 305 £ 65 mm as shown in Figure 5. Although
the preparation of rut specimens differs for both Marshall
and Superpave, the air voids were consistent and
controlled to vary between 7 ^ 0.5%. Furthermore, the
Wessex wheel-tracking device is the only available
device used by the local authority to evaluate rutting.
Superpave-designed mixtures showed higher resist-
ance to rutting than the PWD mixture. In general, it is
believed that higher permanent deformation results from
excessive asphalt binder in a mixture which causes the

Table 3. Moisture susceptibility test results for Superpave and PWD mix.

ITS (kPa) ITS (kPa)

Unconditioned Conditioned Unconditioned Conditioned
Mix design Superpave mixtures TSR (%) PWD mixtures TSR (%)
12.5-B1 625.7 514.1 82.2 461.4 460.5 99.8
12.5-B2 670.6 635.1 94.7 464.5 452.0 97.3
9.5-B1 702.2 616.0 87.7 543.9 535.8 98.5
9.5-B2 640.0 633.2 98.9 516.2 498.4 96.6
 International Journal of Pavement Engineering 93
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Figure 4. Schematic diagram of moisture susceptibility test setup.

Figure 5. Marshall and Superpave rutting specimens.

loss of internal friction between aggregate particles and the IPC UTM-5 machine according to ASTM D4123
subsequently, the load-carrying capacity diminishes. This procedure and was conducted in a range of temperatures,
study shows that the QS Superpave mixtures are less loads, rest periods and axis of loading. The specimens were
susceptible to rutting than QS PWD mixture. It is also
evident that the QS Superpave mixtures using PG70 (B2)
QS Superpave QS PWD
asphalt binder type are the most resistant to rutting as
depicted in Figure 6. Results also show that 9.5-QS-B2 12 10.9
Superpave mixture performs the best and is the least 9.3
10
resistant to rutting. By comparing different mixtures in 8.4
Rut depth (mm)

this study, it is obvious that asphalt binder type and 8

mixture design method affect the rutting of HMA 5.1
6
mixture.
4 2.7 3
1.6
2 0.8
4.3 Resilient modulus test
0
Resilient modulus (MR) was an important variable used to 12.5-B1 12.5-B2 9.5-B1 9.5-B2
measure pavement response under repetitive loads. This Mix
parameter is also an input used in the mechanistic design
of pavement structures. The test was conducted using Figure 6. QS PWD Marshall and Superpave mix rutting test.
 94 J. Ahmad et al.

12.5-SP-B1 12.5-SP-B2 9.5-SP-B1 9.5-SP-B2

12.5-PWD-B1 12.5-PWD-B2 9.5-PWD-B1 9.5-PWD-B2
4000

3500

Resilient modulus (MPa) 3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500
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0
1000 ms 2000 ms 3000 ms
25 Celcius

Figure 7. Resilient modulus of QS PWD and Superpave mixtures at 258C.

initially conditioned for approximately 2 h and tested at
25 and 408C loaded along the vertical diameter at three
different pulse repetition periods of 1000, 2000 and
3000 ms. The pulse repetition of 1000 ms was chosen for
high volume traffic and 3000 ms simulates the low volume
traffic (Tayfur et al. 2007). All test specimens were
prepared at OBC at 4% air voids. The test sequence consists
of five counts of conditioning pulses followed by five
loading pulses where data acquisition takes place. The
conditioning pulse ensured that the loading platen was
seated onto the specimen for consistency.
A comparison of resilient modulus values showed that
Superpave mixtures have considerably higher resilient
modulus values than the PWD-designed mixture when
tested at 25 or 408C. At 258C, resilient modulus values
obtained for the mixture are an indication of mixture
resistance to fatigue, whereas at 408C these values give an
indication of permanent deformation of mixture. Tempera-
ture greatly affects the performance of the mixture as shown
by the results obtained. The resilient modulus values
obtained for 9.5-B2 Superpave-designed mixture are the
highest followed by those obtained for 12.5-B2 Superpave
mixture. Resilient modulus values of 12.5-B1 and 9.5-B1
Superpave-designed mixtures are also higher than those of
all PWD mixtures. This also indicates that the effect of
asphalt binder type used in a mixture and mixture design
method is significant. Figures 7 and 8 show the resilient
modulus values obtained for both mixture types.

1000 12.5-SP-B1 12.5-SP-B2 9.5-SP-B1 9.5-SP-B2

12.5-PWD-B1 12.5-PWD-B2 9.5-PWD-B1 9.5-PWD-B2

800
Resilient modulus (MPa)

600

400

200

0
1000 ms 2000 ms 3000 ms
40 Celcius

Figure 8. Resilient modulus of QS PWD and Superpave mixtures at 408C.

 International Journal of Pavement Engineering 95

4.4 Dynamic creep test 100000

CSS 3/3
The dynamic creep test was conducted to determine the
resistance of HMA mixtures to plastic deformation and is CSS 2/3 y2/3 = 3.756x + 6619
(R2 = 0.988)
important for assessing rutting susceptibility. The test was
10000
conducted using the IPC UTM-5 machine that applies a

Microstrain
repeated pulse uniaxial stress on specimen as shown in the
schematic diagram of Figure 9. The resulting deformations y3/3 = 5.999x + 5136
were measured in the axial direction using LVDTs. Both 1000 (R2 = 0.846)
Superpave and PWD specimens were compacted to achieve
4% air voids and the replicates of three specimens were
prepared for each mixture type. The Superpave specimens
100
were cored and trimmed similar to Marshall specimen 1 10 100 1000
dimensions. The test specimens were first conditioned at Load cycles
408C prior to testing and pre-loaded for 120 s at 10 kPa as
the conditioning stress to ensure that the platen is loaded flat Figure 10. Linear relationship between strain and load cycle.
Downloaded by [University of Chicago Library] at 13:13 26 December 2014

on the specimen. The test was performed according to the

protocol developed by NCHRP 9-19 Superpave Models,
Draft Test Method W2 (Witczak et al. 2001). During each
loading pulse, the deviator stress was 200 kPa, pulse
duration was 0.1 s and the rest period was 0.9 s. The test was
conducted until the maximum axial strain limit reached
10,000 microstrains or until 3600 cycles, whichever
occurred first.
The dynamic creep curve consists of two parts that
represent densification of the mixture during the test at the
nonlinear segment and stable development of axial strain in
the linear segment of the curve. Under careful observation
and analysis, a linear relationship and higher coefficient
were achieved for the linear relationship between axial
strain and load cycles at two-thirds of the linear curve. The
relationship coefficient is small when this curve is linearly
fitted. Hence, this plot is divided into two segments to
enable analysis on the densification, characteristic
under load repetition and also susceptibility of the mixture
to permanent deformation.
Applied load
Figure 10 demonstrates the two linear fittings of the
logarithmic plot. From the dynamic creep curve, permanent
deformation at the densification stage can roughly be
denoted at the initial axial strain from the intercept of the
fitted linear equation. Results showed that the intercept is
large for all PWD mixtures than the Superpave mixture.
Larger intercept denotes higher initial permanent defor-
mation which means the compaction method is related to
the initial permanent deformation of specimens and not due
to the load cycles. Results of the densification pattern are
plotted in Figure 11 for the mixtures. It is obvious that the
SGC-compacted specimens deformed less than the PWD
specimens.
However, further evaluation to characterise permanent
deformation must be done at the other two-thirds part of the
linear dynamic creep curve in the logarithmic plot known
as the creep strain slope (CSS). CSS can be used to
characterise susceptibility of mixtures to permanent
deformation under repeated loads (He and Wong 2008).
When CSS is larger, the mixture is less resistant to
permanent deformation. In general, Superpave-designed
mixtures exhibit lower CSS values than the PWD mixtures,

SGC-Compactor Marshall-Compactor

12.5B2 PWD

LVDT LVDT PWD

12.5B1
Loading
Mix

Platen
9.5B2

Specimen
9.5B1

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000

Intercept
PWD Superpave

Figure 11. Initial permanent deformation vs. compaction

Figure 9. Schematic diagram of dynamic creep test. method.
 96 J. Ahmad et al.

Table 4. Summary of dynamic creep test results.

Ultimate Permanent Creep

Mix type strain deformation stiffness Intercept CSS SCSM
QS quarry
Marshall
12.5-B1 9013.5 0.59 22.3 5383.9 0.24 1780.8
12.5-B2 10018.4 0.66 19.7 7097.2 0.13 2286.6
9.5-B1 10061.0 0.60 19.7 6306.1 0.19 2066.3
9.5-B2 10023.0 0.65 19.9 6618.7 0.15 2040.0
Superpave
12.5-B1 9495.0 0.63 21.0 5517.8 0.23 1474.6
12.5-B2 7902.5 0.53 25.0 4753.6 0.19 1974.3
9.5-B1 10018.7 0.66 19.6 4898.8 0.29 1099.5
9.5-B2 7239.8 0.48 27.3 4561.0 0.17 2485.7
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and; therefore, they are more resistant to permanent
deformation. Results of the dynamic creep test analysis are
tabulated in Table 4. The CSS can be calculated using the
equation below:
log 13600 2 log 11200
CSS ¼
log 3600 2 log 1200
where 13600 denotes the strain at the 3600th cycle and 11200
denotes the strain at the 1200th cycle.
Further evaluation of the secant creep stiffness
modulus (SCSM) can be performed at the linear portion
of the dynamic creep curve can reflect on the susceptibility
of mixture to permanent deformation using the equation
below:
so
Ssecð408Þ ¼
1ð408C;curve2=3 Þ 2 1ð408C;curve3=3 Þ
where 1ð408C;curve2=3 Þ and 1ð408C;curve3=3 Þ are axial strains at
408C at two-thirds of the load cycles and full load cycles,
respectively, and so ¼ 200 kPa is the applied stress.
The actual permanent deformation of mixture cannot
be correctly calculated at transient modulus because initial
0.6
0.5
Creep strain slope
axial strain occurred during the densification process at
the initial stage. A good correlation between the two
parameters is depicted in Figure 12. The relationship
coefficient of the fitted curve, R 2, is 0.84. It is apparent
that CSS decreases with an increase in SCSM. Therefore,
enhancing SCSM will minimise the susceptibility of a
;
mixture to permanent deformation.
5. Conclusions and recommendations
This research was carried out to evaluate Superpave
mixture design using local materials in Malaysia.
Comparison was also done with the conventional Marshall
method-designed mixture conforming to the specifications
of the Malaysia PWD. On the basis of the experimental
results obtained, it was found that the granite aggregates
; used for local road construction satisfy the Superpave
consensus and source aggregate properties criteria and
can, therefore, be used in the Superpave mixture design
system. The volumetric properties for the Superpave-
designed mixtures showed that less binder is utilised than
the PWD mixtures. This is related to the compactive effort
using SGC which develops a better aggregate orientation
to produce higher mixture density. With regard to the
performance of these mixtures, results showed that all the
mixtures are resistant to moisture-induced damage;
however, the ITS is higher for all Superpave-designed
mixtures than the PWD mixtures. The pavement response
under repetitive loading from the resilient modulus test

0.4
R2 = 0.84
showed that Superpave-designed mixtures, especially
0.3 mixtures with higher PG binder grade, have higher
resilient moduli than the PWD mixtures. The Superpave
0.2 mixtures are more rut resistant than the PWD mixtures
when tested in the dynamic creep tests.
0.1 The Superpave system is being implemented in the
USA extensively. It is recommended that the PWD in
0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Malaysia initiates a trial project to validate the presented
Secant creep stiffness modulus (MPa)
results to better understand the Superpave system and
how well these pavements performed compared with the
Figure 12. SCSM vs. CSS (pooled data). conventional method adopted currently. Future studies to
 International Journal of Pavement Engineering 97

compare between the two different types of HMA mixture Asphalt Institute, 2001. Superpave mix design series No.2 (SP-2),
design methods should be extended with a long-term Lexington, KY: Asphalt Institute Research Center.
monitoring of field projects. He, G.P. and Wong, W.G., 2008. Effects of moisture on strength
and permanent deformation of foamed asphalt mix
incorporating RAP materials. Construction and Building
Materials, 22 (1), 30 – 40.
Notes Roberts, F.L., Mohammad, L.N. and Wang, L.B., 2002. History
1. Email: yusofr@salam.uitm.edu.my of hot mix asphalt design in the United States. Journal of
2. Email: mrosli@utm.my Material in Civil Engineering, 14, 279– 293.
3. Email: mustak@ksu.edu Swami, B.L., Mehta, Y.A. and Bose, S., 2004. A comparison of
the Marshall and Superpave design procedure for materials
sourced in India. The International Journal of Pavement
Acknowledgement Engineering, 5 (3), 163– 173.
Tayfur, S., Ozen, H. and Aksoy, A., 2007. Investigation of rutting
The authors would like to acknowledge the Ministry of Science, performance of asphalt mixtures containing polymer
Technology and Innovations (MOSTI), Malaysia, for funding modifiers. Construction and Building Materials, 21 (2),
this research study under the e-Science grant.
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Wang, J.N., Kennedy, T.W. and McGennis, R.B., 2000. Volumetric

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