From Testing to Design: An Easy Way to Use and Interpret the Results from the Asphalt Mixture Performance Tester (AMPT)

10.6135/ijprt.org.tw/2013.6(5).527

Luis G. Diaz；Adrián R. Archilla

AMPT ； Asphalt ； Dynamic modulus ； Master curve ； Performance Testing

International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology

6卷5期（2013 / 09 / 01）

527 - 538

英文

While technologies available today allow the precise determination of material fundamental properties to be used in mechanistic pavement designs, these technologies are often confined to the realm of research and theoretical analysis at universities and research centers. A reason commonly cited to explain this situation is the scarcity of trained personnel to properly interpret the results obtained from these tests, often perceived as ”too complex”, ”research grade”, or ”not practical”. In an effort to facilitate the use of perceived complex results from asphalt dynamic modulus tests into routine pavement engineering practice, a software application, identified as the HMA Analysis Tool (HMA AT), was developed to automatically generate the mixture's modulus master curve using the output files from the commercially available Asphalt Mixture Performance Tester (AMPT). The capabilities and applicability of the HMA AT software application were demonstrated using actual |E*| test results from unmodified and polymer modified asphalt mixtures evaluated by the University of Hawaii. Examples of practical applications in which the results obtained from determining the dynamic modulus master curve from actual test data are utilized include Data Quality Control (DQC) procedures, an example of analysis of the effect of binder type and compaction level on the mechanical response of a mix, and the generation of input modulus values potentially useful as input in pavement design methods. It is expected that the examples presented in this paper provide a glimpse of practical applications in which data generated with the AMPT can be used, and will hopefully contribute to generate ideas about how interested users could make the most out of the data generated with their AMPT systems.