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 forecasting flexible pavement temperatures by Fourier series formulae using MATLAB. General Fourier series formulae have been locally developed to study thermal changes during different periods of time and directly link them to the temperature of pavement. By using the MATLAB program and air temperature data, the developed Fourier series formulae were able to obtain high-accuracy future predictions of air temperatures. The Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) models were then used to predict pavement temperatures using air temperatures, thereby helping engineers 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 based on the daily model for one, two and five years, as it simulates fluctuations in the maximum and minimum temperatures on a daily basis. The same results were found by previous studies that were carried out in Amman city.