Publication Number: FHWA-RD-99-104
Date: April/May 1999

Superpave Software Version 2.0 Nears Release

The new Superpave volumetric mix design software, known as Superpave Software Version 2.0, is scheduled to make its debut this summer. The software, which runs under the Windows 95 and the Windows NT operating systems, allows users to design asphalt mixes in conformance with the Superpave mix design procedures. The program contains five modules:

• Volumetric mix design procedures
• Field quality control (QC) procedures
• Field quality assurance (QA) procedures
• Binder classification procedures
• Test data entry procedures

The modules for QC/QA are some of the most important new features in Version 2.0. "Not only can you keep track of your mix design, but you can also check QC/QA in the field," says Katherine Petros of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The software has also been revised to include the new simplified compaction levels recommended by the Asphalt Mix Expert Task Group and the Superpave Lead States team. (The revised compaction table will be published as part of an update to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials [AASHTO] provisional specifications in May.)

Final revisions to the software, which will incorporate all of the recently approved AASHTO specification changes, are currently being made. The final changes are being done under the guidance of National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 9-19 (Superpave Support and Performance Models Management). It is anticipated that when completed, the software will be included in the AASHTOWare line of software.

The Superpave software was originally created under a Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) project that involved teams of researchers from the Texas Transportation Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Deighton & Associates, University of California-Berkeley, Pennsylvania State University, and University of Florida. Version 1.0 of the software, a cleaned-up version of the DOS-based software developed under SHRP, was released by FHWA in 1996. Since that release, the University of Maryland Superpave models team has worked under an FHWA contract to refine and enhance the software and make it easier to use. The latest version has undergone field testing by a team of engineers from highway agencies and contractors.

"The Superpave software will provide the industry with a fantastic amount of useful information," says Larry Michael of the Maryland State Highway Administration and a member of the Superpave Lead States team. "We're eager-and our contractors are eager-to begin using the software, which will give us a standardized platform for designing Superpave mixes."

For more information,contact Katherine Petros at FHWA, 415-744-0652 (fax: 415-744-2620; email: katherine.petros@fhwa.dot.gov).

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