Abstract
At a time when there is great interest in developing performance-related specifications incorporating multiple quality characteristics and several highly complex approaches are under development, it is questioned whether these procedures will be capable of providing the degree of practicality and ease of application sought by most practitioners. Alternatively, it is claimed that there is a simple, straightforward procedure that is suitable for most practical purposes. The components of this procedure have been successfully applied by the New Jersey Department of Transportation over a period of many years, and it is argued that additional complexity is rarely necessary or beneficial. An example is presented illustrating how readily obtainable data can be used, first to develop the performance model and then to develop the acceptance procedure for a specification for in-place air voids, thickness, and smoothness of hot-mix asphalt pavement. The example is presented in sufficient detail to demonstrate the ease with which this procedure can be learned and applied by individuals with only a basic background in engineering mathematics.
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