CEE 301

Highway Engineering
Lecture 8

Road Construction

Dr. Waqas Rafiq

COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Campus
Contents
 Manufacture of HMA (Batching and
Mixing)
 Asphalt Concrete Transportation and
Construction (Paving and Compaction)
 Quality control and acceptance of HMA
Construction Practices
 Equipment and Procedures involved in Construction
of HMA
 Equipment includes, manufacture facilities,
transportation, placement and compaction
equipment.
 Provided Guidance needed to manufacture, place
and compact designed HMA mixtures
Hot Mix Asphalt Facilities
 Purpose
◦ Properly proportion,
◦ Blend,
◦ Dry/heat aggregate and
◦ Mix asphalt to produce HMA
 Aggregates are typically blend from 2 to 4 separate
Stockpiles
 Additive and RAP can be add in the matrix
Types of Mix Facility
 Batch
 Drum
 Continuous (seldom)
Types of Hot Mix Asphalt Facilities
 Batch Mix Plant
 First HMA plants were Batch facilities
 Early 1900s until the advent of drum mixers in 1970s
 80% of HMA produced in US by drum plants
 No auto weighing sys in the Batch facility
 Dry aggregates typically up to 300F
 Heated aggregates are lifted to the top of Tower via
enclosed hot elevator
 Tower contains series of components; which Screen,
Store, Proportion by wt, Mix and Discharge HMA
 Screens to indl sized bins to hopper, dropped to
pugmill – dry‐mix‐cycle (2‐5 sec); asphalt is added and
mixed – wet‐mix‐cycle (30‐35 sec)
 Hot Screening Unit
of Batch Plant

Batch Mix Plant

Types of Hot Mix Asphalt Facilities
Batch Mix Plant
Types of Hot Mix Asphalt Facilities
 Drum Mix Plant
 4 ‐5 Cold bins, proportioning of material to meet JMF
 Requires availability of controlled gradation stockpiles
 Continuous‐Auto weighing sys, moisture correction
 Dry agg, asphalt is added at 1/3rd drum length from
discharge end – Coater in some cases
 Drum Length‐to‐Dia Ratio is typically 4:1 to 6:1
 Mineral filler and asphalt are added simultaneously
 Mix is then transported to surge silo/storage bin
 Delivered in the truck
 Transported to construction site
Types of Hot Mix Asphalt Facilities
Drum Mix Plant
Types of Hot Mix Asphalt Facilities
Drum Mix Plant
Drum Mix Plant Flow Control System
Types of Drums in Drum Plants
Equipment Common to Both Types of
Facilities
 Liquid binder storage tank
 Aggregate and RAP stockpiles
 Virgin aggregate and RAP feed bins
 Aggregate and RAP transfer conveyers
 Aggregate dryers
 Dust collection equipment (from agg dry)
 Collected dust return equipment
 Mineral filler, additive, lime, fibers storage and feed
control
 Finished product storage silos and load‐out equipment
Drum Plant Development was Possible
Because!!!
 The availability of uniformly produced, consistently
sized aggregates
 Development of large, inexpensive variable‐speed
motors to control proportioning of aggregates from
cold‐bins
 Development of belt‐scales and flow meters to measure
material continuously
 Development of storage silos
Hot Mix Asphalt Transportation
Operation
 Mix transport involves everything required to convey HMA
from a production facility to a paving site.
 Procedures include ‐‐‐ Truck Cycle
◦ Loading of HMA
◦ Weighing and Ticketing
◦ Protecting HMA from cooling
◦ Transporting to job site
◦ Dumping into the paver or material transfer vehicle Hopper
◦ Returning to plant
 Truck Cycle carefully determined
 Ideally, the goal of mix transport should be to maintain mix
characteristics between the production facility and the paving
site
Hot Mix Asphalt Transportation
Operation
 Factors Affecting Truck Cycle
 Governed by Cost of trucking
◦ Increase Payload
◦ Reduce Trip Time
 # of truck depends upon
◦ Daily output/HMA Produced
◦ Total truck cycle Time
◦ Payload per truck
 Surge bin/storage Silo reduces time of loading, waiting time
in the line to be loaded
Hot Mix Asphalt Transportation
Operation
Considerations or Best Practices to Transport HMA
 Loading at the Production Facility.
◦ Truck bed cleanliness and lubrication
◦ Mix Segregation. HMA should be discharged into the
truck bed so as to minimize segregation. Dropping HMA
from the storage silo or batcher (for batch plants) in one
large mass creates a single pile of HMA in the truck bed.
Large‐sized aggregate may roll off this pile and collect
around the base. Dropping HMA in several smaller masses
(three is typical) at different points in the truck bed will
help minimize the segregation risk
Hot Mix Asphalt Transportation
Operation
Loading Procedure
Hot Mix Asphalt Transportation
Operation
Considerations or Best Practices to Transport HMA
2. Truck transport.
 Truck transport affects HMA characteristics through
cooling.
 HMA is usually loaded into a truck at a fairly uniform
temperature between 250°F to 350°F.
 During transport, HMA temperature drops and tends to
develop a cool thin crust on the surface that surrounds a
much hotter core. Things such as air temperature, rain,
wind and length of haul, insulated truck beds and truck
tarps can affect the characteristics and temperature of
this crust.
Hot Mix Asphalt Transportation
Operation
Considerations or Best Practices to Transport HMA
2. Truck transport. Several measures to minimize HMA
cooling during transport are:
 Minimize haul distance.
 Insulate truck beds. Simple, sheet of plywood
 Place a tarpaulin over the truck bed.
Hot Mix Asphalt Transportation
Operation
HMA Transport Considerations cats
3. Unloading at the paving site.
◦ HMA should be unloaded soon after it arrives at the paving
site in order to minimize mix cooling.
 Also, on jobs with more than one mix type the inspector
and/or foreman should be certain the correct mix is loaded
into the paver.
Hot Mix Asphalt Transportation
Operation
HMA Transport Considerations cats
 Operation synchronization.
◦ Truck transport should be planned such that the HMA
transport rate (expressed in tons/hr) closely matches
plant production rate and laydown rate.
◦ Traffic flow affects HMA delivery rates
Hot Mix Asphalt Transportation
Operation
HMA Transport Considerations cats
4. Operation synchronization. Factors to be considered:
 Number of trucks to be used.
 Truck type.
 Average truck hauling capacity.
 Production facility output rate.
 Availability and condition of storage silos.
 Time to lubricate the truck bed before transport.
 Waiting time at the production facility.
 Loading, weighing and ticketing time at the plant.
 Time to cover the load.
 Distance between the production facility and the paving site.
 Average truck speed.
Hot Mix Asphalt Paving
Operation
 Principles of Asphalt Pavers
◦ Prime mover receives material from truck, stores it on
board and spreads it on the surface
◦ Compaction MUST be accomplished before the mat cools
to a temperature below approx (80 C), called Cessation
Temperature.
 Cooling rate of mat is affected by:‐
1. HMA mat thickness
2. Temperature of HMA when placed
3. Ambient temperature
4. Temperature of base/surface
5. Wind velocity and humidity
6. Solar Radiation level
 Hot Mix Asphalt Compaction
Hot Mix Asphalt Compaction
 HMA compaction is influenced by a myriad of
factors; some related to the Environment, some
determined by Mix and structural design and some
under contractor and agency control during
Construction
 Factors Affecting Compaction
Hot Mix Asphalt Compaction Sequence
HMA compaction is typically accomplished by a sequential train of
compaction equipment
A typical compaction train consists (in order of use):
1. Screed. The screed is the first device used to compact the mat and
may be operated in the vibratory mode.
2. Breakdown Roller. The breakdown roller is the first roller
behind the screed and therefore, generally effects the most density
gain of any roller in the sequence. Breakdown rollers can be of any
type but are most often vibratory Steel Wheel and sometimes
pneumatic tire.
Hot Mix Asphalt Compaction Sequence
3.Intermediate Roller.
 Intermediate roller is used for additional compaction.
 Pneumatic tire rollers are usually used as intermediate rollers
because they provide a different type of compaction
(kneading action) than a breakdown roller.
 This can help further compact the mat or at the very least,
rearrange the aggregate within the mat to make it receptive to
further compaction.
4. Finish Roller.
 The finish roller is last in the sequence and is used to provide
a smooth mat surface.
 Static Steel Wheel rollers are almost always used as finishing
rollers because they can produce the smoothest surface of any
roller type.
Hot Mix Asphalt Compaction
Compaction due to Traffic.
 After the rollers have compacted the mat to the desired
density and produced the desired smoothness, the new
pavement is opened to traffic.
 Traffic loading will provide further compaction in the wheel
paths of a finished mat.
 For instance, a mat compacted to 8% air voids and then
opened to heavy traffic may further compact to about 3 to
5% air voids in the wheel paths over time.
Hot Mix Asphalt Compaction
Field Compaction
 Soil Factors
◦ Moisture control ‐ add water with water wagon
◦ Layer thicknesses ‐ thickness of each lift is important
 Equipment Compactive Effort Types
(1) Pressure action (static) ‐ press soil particles together
with static force dead weight of roller
(2) Impact action (dynamic) ‐ press soil particles together
with static force hand tamper, impact hammer
(3) Vibration action ‐ shake soil particles
vibratory rollers, fast use of rollers
(4) Manipulation action ‐ kneading or stirring/massaging
force pneumatic tire rollers
Field Compaction Equipment
 Different equipment provide different compaction
mechanisms, some provide a combination of efforts
 Different soils require different efforts to compact
 Sheepsfoot Roller ‐ clays
◦ Pressure action ‐ very high pressure with each foot
◦ Compacts layer from bottom‐up
◦ Feet “walk‐out” of soil, but leaves surface fairly rough
 Tamping Foot Roller ‐ clays and silts
◦ Pressure action, similar to sheepsfoot, larger foot with
sloping sides
◦ Walks out of soil and gives fairly smooth surface
Field Compaction (cont.)
 Steel Wheel Roller ‐ gravels and sands ‐ (Up to 18 tons)
◦ Pressure action ‐ steel drum filled with water forces soil to
compactCompacts layer from top‐down; leaves smooth
surface
 Vibratory Roller ‐ sands and gravels
◦ Impact and vibration action
◦ Produced mechanically by an eccentric weight
◦ Frequency and amplitude adjusted by operator to attain best
results
◦ Combined with steel wheel roller or sometimes with tamping
foot roller
◦ Compacts layer from top‐down
 Grid Roller ‐ granular
◦ Pressure action ‐ open grid in shape of drum; breaks up lumps
◦ Compacts layer from top‐down; leaves a grid pattern
Field Compaction (cont.)
 Pneumatic Tire Roller ‐ silts and sands Pressure and
manipulation action ‐ many tires per axle “Wobble wheel”
roller increases manipulation action Compacts layer from
top‐down
 Comparison of Roller Characteristics
Need correct roller or combination of rollers to meet
Circumstances
 Important factors controlling field density:
◦ Soil type
◦ Lift thickness
◦ Number of passes needed
Field Compaction (cont.)
Good Construction Practices of Hot Mix
Asphalt
 Asphalt pavement should be a minimum of three inches
thick.
 The base upon which the pavement will be placed must
be unfrozen, dry, well drained, firm and unyielding.
 Asphalt pavements must be placed hot under good
weather conditions.
 Asphalt pavements must be well compacted after
placement.
 Asphalt pavement should be plant mixed from a
reputable supplier.