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About PaveCool

The industry-standard asphalt cooling prediction software, developed by Minnesota DOT and the University of Minnesota

What is PaveCool?

PaveCool is government-developed, GPLv3-licensed asphalt cooling prediction software that solves a critical problem in cold-weather paving operations: calculating precisely how long crews have to compact hot-mix asphalt before it cools too much for effective densification.

When hot-mix asphalt (HMA) is delivered and laid on a road surface, it begins cooling immediately. Compaction must occur while the mix is still hot enough to densify properly. PaveCool calculates exactly how many minutes crews have in this critical "compaction window."

Delivery Temp

275-325°F

Typical Mix Temp
Cutoff Temp

175°F

Minimum for Compaction
Origins and History
December 1994
Research Initiated

CTS Project #1994029, titled "An Asphalt Paving Tool for Adverse Conditions," begins at the University of Minnesota's Department of Civil, Environmental and Geo-Engineering.

1998
PaveCool Released

Original version released. Research published in the 146-page Final Report MN/RC-1998-18.

2000
Federal Adoption

FHWA reviews version 2.0 and helps distribute it to all state DOTs nationwide.

Present
Version 3.x

PaveCool 3.1 for Windows and version 3.2 for iOS and Android.

Key Researchers and Developers
DN

David Newcomb

Principal Investigator

Led the original research project. Later served as Vice President at NAPA.

VV

Vaughan Voller

Co-Investigator

University of Minnesota professor. Developed the core mathematical framework.

BT

Bruce Tanquist

Lead Developer

MnDOT Office of Materials. Continues to maintain and update PaveCool.

DT

David Timm

Researcher

Contributing researcher who later continued research at Auburn University.

Additional contributors: Bruce Chadbourn, Rachel De Sombre, Jim Luoma. The Minnesota Asphalt Paving Association (MAPA) assisted development.

Open Source License
GPLv3 Licensed

PaveCool is genuinely open source under the GNU General Public License v3.

The original source code is publicly available from MnDOT.

Compliance & Rights
  • Source Code: Available at GitHub
  • Freedom: Free to use, modify, and redistribute.
  • Attribution: Copyright © MnDOT & UMN.
Read Full License →
Industry Adoption

FHWA

Federal Highway Administration endorsed

State DOTs

MN, TX, CO, WI, and more

NAPA

National Asphalt Pavement Association

Asphalt Institute

Certification programs