1. Scope

Keywords

Rationale

Automation of the measurement of quality assurance metrics during asphalt production and installation is expected to lead to improved outcomes including quality of asphalt, safety of measurement practice, and may be used to assist in the reduction of asphalt mixing temperatures. Consignment note data is communicated via e-ticket to installation operatives to reduce error in creation of construction records, to facilitate GPS positioning of material deposition, and to assist with paving speeds to reduce thermal segregation and improve road smoothness. Real-time compaction monitoring provides actionable data to roller drivers to ensure that compaction levels are reached before asphalt cooling has taken place. The automated quality assurance method also provides compaction data for the entirety of the asphalt mat under construction. The limitations of temperature measurement practice are maintaining automated quality assurance equipment and ensuring that instrumented plant is used on desired sites, particularly if traditional methods have been abandoned in favor of automation. Limitations of the compaction method are (1) all materials and weights of compactor combination require their own correlation. (2) variations in asphalt mix will render the correlation unreliable. These limitations apply similarly to the use of density gauges to measure asphalt density. Correlations are required to use density gauges reliably and these correlations rely on a consistency of asphalt mix.