Validation of Superpave™ Method of Asphalt Compaction for Australasia

Austroads has completed a project to replace the obsolete gyratory compactors used in design and quality control testing of asphalt mixes and update its Guide to Pavement Technology Part 4B: Asphalt.

Austroads asphalt mix design procedure currently relies on Gyropac compaction for volumetric mix design. The discontinuation of the Gyropac compactor has resulted in a significant gap in the Austroads asphalt mix design procedure and created a need for a replacement.

The Austroads Asphalt Research Technical Group has identified the Superpave™ gyratory compactor as the most likely replacement for this gap.

The project team undertook a comprehensive literature review and testing of asphalt mixes to understand the relationship between compaction in Gyropac, Servopac (setup to AS/NZS) and Superpave™ gyratory compactors to allow the adoption of the Superpave™ standard gyratory settings in the Austroads mix design procedure.

This webinar, presented by Dr Bevan Sullivan and Sean Dorahy, provided a detailed overview of the project, including the findings of the literature review and test data. There were question and answer opportunities during the session.