SUPERPAVE PERFORMANCE GRADED ASPHALT BINDER SELECTION FOR

ASPHALT MIXTURE DESIGN IN GHANA: A SUMMARY

The objective of the research was to determine the suitability of Superpave PG binder grades for
various climatic zones in Ghana to facilitate proper binder selection for asphalt mixture design.
The Superpave system is a pavement design and analysis system developed by the U.S. Strategic
Highway Research Program (SHRP) to address common pavement distresses such as rutting,
fatigue cracking, and thermal cracking. Rutting failures, and premature fatigue cracking are
common in Ghana due to heavy traffic and harsh climatic conditions. The paper looked at four
existing Superpave binder grade prediction models namely the SHRP, LTTP, ICM (Integrated
climatic model) and damage-based model using 42 years of air temperature data collected from
24 weather stations across Ghana as well as in-situ pavement temperature data. The model derived
from the Long-Term Pavement Performance program (LTTP) was found to better represent
Ghana's climatic conditions and suggests that the country may be partitioned into two Superpave
binder grade selection zones: the Northern Savannah Zone and the Transition/Forest/Coastal
Zone. The suggested grade unadjusted for traffic conditions in the Northern Savannah Zone is PG
70-10 and for the Coastal Zone, PG 64-10. However, they need to be adjusted for traffic
conditions; the paper presents the adjusted binder grades for various traffic conditions (Speed and
ESALs). The authors suggest that implementing the Superpave system in Ghana's construction
specifications can provide several benefits, including longer-lasting pavements, reduced
maintenance costs, improved safety, and smoother rides for road users. In Ghana currently, only
the mixture design component of the Superpave system is an option in Ghana's standard
construction specification, and there is no road agency guidance document on Superpave binder
grade selection in Ghana. Asphalt binder is selected based on viscosity grading. The paper
recommends the development of such a guidance document to facilitate binder grade selection and
streamline binder grade selection processes in Ghana.

1
LITERATURE REVIEW

Superpave system

The Superior performing asphalt pavements (Superpave) system was made to address rutting,
fatigue and thermal cracking. It comprises:

1. Asphalt binder grading

2. Asphalt mixture design
3. Asphalt mixture performance evaluation

Limitations of viscosity grading

The following are limitations of viscosity grading of asphalt:

1. Viscosities are only measured at 60℃ and 135℃ and this is used to predict pavement
behaviour at high temperatures; however, testing is not performed at intermediate
temperatures where fatigue cracking normally occurs
2. The effects of long-term binder aging are not considered

Limitations of penetration grading

The following are limitations of penetration testing of asphalt:

1. It is an empirical method; results are not directly related to performance. Asphalt of the
same penetration grade may perform differently in the field
2. The effects of long-term binder aging are not considered

Elastomeric modification of bitumen

This involves the addition of elastomers to bitumen to improve elasticity, viscosity, cohesion,
ageing resistance, wear and fatigue resistance, deformation and cracking resistance. Elastomers
are simply polymers that are rubbery in nature and can recover their original shape even after
significant deformation. Some elastomers used include SBS, POE, TPO, EVA, EBA, GMA-
grafted polyolefins.