Volume 16, No. 1, 2022
Received: 2021/07/27, Accepted: 2021/10/09
Authors:
Aslam Al-Omari; Mohammad Khasawneh; Moad Barakat;
Abstract:
Asphalt binder is a viscoelastic material. Its physical and rheological properties are highly affected by temperature to which it will be exposed during its entire life. Choosing the right performance grade (PG) asphalt binder is a very important step in flexible pavement design and construction. The PG asphalt binder depends on pavement temperature which is directly related to air temperature of the region in which the pavement will be constructed. This study focuses on the forecasting of flexible pavement temperatures by Fourier series formulas using MATLAB. General Fourier series formulas have been locally developed to study thermal change during different periods of time and directly link them to the temperature of pavements. By using the MATLAB program and air temperature data, the developed Fourier series formulas were able to obtain high accuracy future predictions of air temperatures. The Strategic Highway Research Program Research Plans (SHRP) models were then used to predict pavement temperatures using air temperatures, and thereby helping engineers to determine the best PG asphalt binder for the studied period of time as well as for the future. The study results indicated that the best PG-asphalt binder for the studied region is 64-10.
Keywords:
Pavement temperature; Air temperature; PG-asphalt binder; Fourier series; MATLAB; Superpave