Abstract:
Many countries worldwide use Superpave Performance Grade or Viscosity Grade Bitumen for streets’ and highways’ construction. Unfortunately, penetration grade bitumen is still in use for construction of streets and highways in Bangladesh. Numerous scientific studies reported that using penetration grade binder is not sustainable and insufficient for building long-lasting pavement. This century-old system cannot evaluate binder performance in different climatic scenarios as binder performance is selected based on one temperature. Furthermore, in this system, no aging and fundamental engineering properties, essential for understanding Long-Term Pavement Performance, are obtained. This current study attempts to select Superpave performance grade bitumen for different regions in Bangladesh based on climatic data. All the necessary climate data of different stations located all over the country were collected from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department. Two models—SHRP and LTPP—were employed to predict pavement minimum and maximum temperatures. Performance grade (PG XX–XX) binders were selected from the average seven-day maximum and minimum temperatures, which were predicted using two separate models. The selected performance grade binders for 23 locations across Bangladesh are outlined in this article.