STATUS: Research complete. The final report is available at: https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26603/evaluation-of-the-asphalt-binder-quality-tester
BACKGROUND
The FHWA Research and Technology (R&T) Evaluation Program seeks to assess and communicate the benefits of FHWA’s R&T efforts; ensure that the organization is expending public resources efficiently and effectively; and build evidence to shape and improve policymaking. Beginning in 2019, FHWA requested that the Transportation Research Board be directly involved in managing evaluations of selected projects.
The ABQT is a rapid testing device that measures deflection and recovery in a sample of asphalt binder and then estimates the performance grade of the binder sample. Binder quality is an important component of asphalt quality, affecting the quality and performance of asphalt pavement. Compared with most existing binder testing equipment, the ABQT is smaller, requires less calibration, and uses smaller sample volumes, making it more portable and easier to use. The ABQT has the potential to provide test results more rapidly at a project site or in a state testing laboratory. This could allow for an increased the number of samples tested, which can help State DOTs and project managers better detect out-of-specification binder before it is paved.
For project TFPE-01, “Asphalt Binder Quality Tester”, RTI International was tasked to evaluate the process by which ABQT research was selected and conducted. The effort also included an evaluation of activities to promote the adoption of ABQT by state departments of transportation along with an assessment of barriers to adoption of the ABQT by public- and private-sector entities. A quantitative estimate of the potential benefits of the ABQT was also developed.
