Meet the New Mobile Asphalt Lab
The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) new and improved mobile
asphalt laboratory will be hitting the road soon with an array of state-of-the-art
technologies and the goal of promoting long life asphalt pavements for
the 21st century.
The renovated trailer's tools will enable FHWA to better further develop
and share new asphalt technology with State highway agencies. This new
technology ranges from simple performance test equipment to rapid materials
testing devices. "We'll be working with States to develop emerging
technologies along with demonstrating them," says Leslie Myers
of FHWA. This give-and-take of ideas and methods that the mobile lab
facilitates can prolong the life and enhance the quality of highways,
resulting in better safety and mobility for the motoring public.
Along with bringing new asphalt pavement technology directly to locations
throughout the United States, the updated mobile lab's goals include:
- Developing, testing, and evaluating Superpave performance prediction
specifications.
- Supporting State highway agency efforts to ensure high quality
construction materials and practices.
- Resolving issues related to the implementation of new pavement
technology and construction specifications with transportation partners.
In addition, the validation activities to be performed by the mobile
asphalt lab will help smooth the transition of State agencies and industry
to using the forthcoming 2002 Pavement Design Guide developed
by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
"The lab give States a preview of what they can start to do to
begin using the Design Guide and how they can make implementation easier,"
says Myers.
Once a lab visit has been scheduled at the request of the State, the
trailer will travel to the State's particular highway construction site,
where lab staff will use the trailer's equipment to test local materials.
After the site visit and lab tests, the staff will prepare a report
for the State with feedback on the test results and will present it
during a closeout meeting.
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| This photo shows the simple performance test equipment. |
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| The mobile asphalt lab will start making site visits
to States this spring. |
New technology in the mobile lab includes simple performance test equipment
that provides data for performance-prediction models and supports new
pavement design procedures through advanced mixture characterization.
Cutting-edge core specimen fabrication equipment is also included, featuring
dual-bladed saws and a coring shaft that can be used to make correct-sized
specimens for the simple performance test using a dry process (i.e.,
without the use of water). And an array of rapid materials testing technology
includes video imaging equipment that can measure aggregate properties
for both fine and coarse aggregates, as well as infrared detection equipment
to determine saturated surface dry condition, aggregate absorption values,
and apparent specific gravity.
Conventional hot-mix asphalt tests can also be run in the lab, including
volumetric testing for Superpave mixtures and in-place density measurements.
Advanced testing of performance-related specifications and other innovative
contracting practices can be performed as well.
The revamped trailer will participate in the Rocky Mountain Asphalt
conference to be held in Denver, Colorado, in February, as well as the
World of Asphalt conference in Nashville, Tennessee in March. The trailer
currently has invitations from the Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina,
and Pennsylvania highway agencies for on-site activities starting in
April. For more information on the mobile asphalt lab or to schedule
a visit to your State, contact your local FHWA Division office or Resource
Center, or Leslie Myers at FHWA, 202-366-1198 (email: leslie.myers@fhwa.dot.gov).
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Articles in this issue:
Pavement Warranties Yield Innovation, Quality
Pavement Warranties: Learning from the European Experience
Meet the New Mobile Asphalt Lab
Keeping Up with Context Sensitive Design
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