Three primary products were delivered at completion of the Asphalt Research Program of the Strategic Research Program, a performance based asphalt binder specification, a performance based asphalt mixture specification and a mixture design and analysis system. SUPERPAVE software is a mix design software package which integrates the SHRP products and provides the mix designer with tools and information needed to perform a mix design using SHRP specifications. SUPERPAVE software is aimed exclusively at asphalt mixture design. Asphalt binder tests and other asphalt binder research are not specifically contained in SUPERPAVE software. SUPERPAVE software draws upon results of the asphalt mixture research program and program and combines it with portions of existing mix design technology. The result is a complete mixture design and analysis system intended for routine asphalt mixture design. SUPERPAVE software applies to all phases of mixture design from selection of raw materials, aggregates and asphalt binder, through aggregate structure selection, asphalt volume selection, performance based testing and performance prediction. SUPERPAVE also applies to field verification of the mixture and quality control testing, the last phase of mix design which must not be overlooked. This paper provides an overview of SUPERPAVE software capabilities. The methodology of SUPERPAVE mixture design is discussed but only to the extent necessary for understanding of the software capabilities. For a more thorough discussion of SUPERPAVE mixture design, other papers in this session should be consulted. (A)
Abstract