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Asphalt binder's performance is highly sensitive to temperature fluctuations and climatic conditions. The selection of an inappropriate asphalt binder leads to considerable damage and impacts roads' longevity. The current selection practice of asphalt binder in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is mainly according to the penetration grading system, which does not consider local temperature conditions. The Superpave Performance Grade (PG) system considers extreme pavement temperatures to define appropriate asphalt binder PG. This study aimed at developing the Superpave asphalt binder PG map for the UAE. The Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) and Long-Term Pavement Performance Program (LTPP) Superpave models were used to calculate the pavement temperatures employing air temperature records collected from 20 weather stations across the UAE. The result of the Superpave PG map highlights three distinct asphalt binder grades at 98% reliability: PG 76-10, PG 70-10, and PG 64-10. The PG 76 -10 asphalt binder is the most prevalent PG, covering more than 85% of the UAE map. However, the current construction practice utilizes penetration grades 40/50 and 60/70, through both asphalt binders are equivalent to PG 64-xx. This necessitates the use of different modifier technologies to achieve the Superpave requirements of PG 76-10 and PG 70-10.
Zeiada et al. (2024) studied this question.