Quality Management Plan for Performance-Graded Asphalt Binders Final rept. (21 Jul 00-30 Jun 02)

摘要

The Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) and the resulting specifications for performance-graded asphalt binders were significant in modernizing the specifications for hot mix asphalt concrete. These specifications and their associated test methods are intended to relate the acceptance and payment for asphalt binders to field performance. The SHRP research did not result in a protocol for the acceptance and payment of asphalt binders. The purchase of asphalt binders by state agencies is complicated because the asphalt binder is certified by the supplier of the asphalt binder, but the ultimate supplier of the binder is the hot mix producer. This complicates protocols for payment and strategies for conflict resolution. This document contains a quality assurance (QA) specification in a format that can be applied in the field. The specification is intended to function in conjunction with laboratory accreditation, qualification of laboratory technicians, knowledge of the laboratory-specific bias as acquired from an inter-laboratory testing program, and a robust database that allows materials sampled at the hot mix asphalt plant, and tested by the user agency, to be directly correlated with material shipped by the producer and the corresponding Certificate of Analysis (COA).