Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 474–481

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Automation in Construction
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / a u t c o n

Measuring and visualizing hot mix asphalt concrete paving operations

S.R. Miller ⁎, T. Hartmann, A.G. Dorée
University of Twente, Department of Construction Management and Engineering, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper presents AsphaltOpen, a visualization tool for Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) paving operations and a data
Accepted 4 November 2010 collection process to collect the input data for AsphaltOpen from HMA paving operations. In detail,
Available online 20 January 2011 AsphaltOpen visualizes collected site-specific GIS data and GPS path tracing data of equipments' motions
together with the HMA's temperature behavior. In this way, AsphaltOpen allows HMA paving professionals to
Keywords:
understand and learn about the relation of machine operations and HMA temperature and its impact on the
Asphalt concrete
Construction
HMA compaction. To ensure the practical usability, we developed AsphaltOpen and the data collection
Visualization process by conducting action research with HMA paving operators. Overall, AsphaltOpen offers an easy-to-use
Temperature tool for HMA paving companies to visualize previous asphalting operations. In this way, it opens up new ways
GPS for HMA paving contractors to improve and professionalize their paving operations.
Action research © 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.

1. Introduction certain HMA temperature, the cessation temperature, rollers operating

Under lab conditions, the physical properties of Hot Mix Asphalt
(HMA) in relation to its compaction grade are well understood. In
particular, it is well known that an ideal compaction grade for HMA mats
exists. If HMA mats are over-compacted it loses its plasticity because too
little air voids exists in the mat, while under-compaction causes the mat
to be not stable enough (Kari as cited in Chadboum [1]). During “real
world” compaction efforts under site conditions, however, one of the
main problems during the asphalt paving process is to decide when to
start and stop compaction operations. Asphalt compaction roller
operators have little information about actual compaction grades at
hand during their rolling operations. Additionally, the decision of when
to stop compaction operations is complicated because the HMA
temperature has a direct effect on the rate of compaction that can be
achieved with each pass of a compaction roller over a certain part of the
HMA mat. The HMA temperature has a direct effect on the viscosity of
the binder and viscosity directly influences the effect of compaction
operations [1–3]. On the one hand, if the HMA is too hot roller loads will
simply displace or “shove” the mat rather than compact it because the
viscosity of the binder is too high. On the other hand, as the mix cools,
the binder eventually becomes stiff enough to prevent any further
reduction in air voids regardless of compaction efforts. Hence, if the
mixture is too warm, it will be overstressed because the mat lacks the
stability to support the weight of compaction rollers and the HMA
spreads laterally from beneath the roller. If the mixture is too cool, it will
be understressed. In this instance, the roller does not create shear forces
sufficient to increase density (Kari as cited in Chadboum [1]). Below a
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +31 53 4894601; fax: +31 53 4892511.
E-mail addresses: s.r.miller@utwente.nl (S.R. Miller), t.hartmann@utwente.nl
(T. Hartmann), a.g.doree@utwente.nl (A.G. Dorée).
on the HMA mat will only improve surface texture and further
compaction will generally not occur [4,5]. In summary, it is hard for
operators to decide when a sufficient compaction rate of the HMA mat
has been achieved.
To support HMA paving operators with their paving efforts, the
industry, mainly the vendors of asphalting machinery has developed
sophisticated asphalt characteristic and process measurement technology
[6]. Additionally, researchers have developed process monitoring and
simulation tools. However, HMA practitioners, so far, did not adopt these
tools. Despite the complexity of HMA paving operations and the close
relation of the operations with the physical conditions of the HMA mix,
HMA paving operations still heavily depend on craftsmanship. In practice,
contractors select work methods largely based upon tradition and do, in
general, not measure key process indicators, such as asphalt temperature,
asphalt cooling rates, asphalt compaction grades, and asphalt machine
operations [7]. One of the reasons for the slow uptake of measurement
tools to support and understand HMA paving operations is the lack of an
integrated process that allows the measurement of operations and the
subsequent visualization of the measured data that enables HMA paving
professionals to engage in meaningful cycles of learning and improvement
[8].
To address this issue, this paper presents a data measurement
process and a visualization environment, AsphaltOpen, that we
developed in close collaboration with operators and project managers.
Professionals can use the measurement process to collect asphalt
temperature data and GPS path data of all asphalting machine motions.
The accompanying software AsphaltOpen integrates this temperature
and GPS data with site-specific GIS data and provides functionality to
meaningfully overlay these different data. We developed the process
and the tool in close collaboration with practitioners. This action
research approach allowed us to contribute to knowledge in two areas.

0926-5805/$ – see front matter © 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.

doi:10.1016/j.autcon.2010.11.015
 S.R. Miller et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 474–481
First of all, our research suggests that the measurement and
visualization of HMA temperature data in relation to HMA machine
operations are important factors to enable practitioners to understand
how paving operations influence the compaction grade of the asphalt.
Second, based on this first finding, we designed new visualization
overlay functions that enable operators to make sense of their previous
paving operations, to enable project managers to optimize paving
operations in the future, and to allow companies and the research
community to move towards an evidence based management practice
of HMA paving operations that we implemented in the software
AsphaltOpen.
This paper is organized as follows: We start by theoretically
explaining the impact that temperature and machine operations have
on the HMA compaction and describe previous technology initiatives
that aimed at measuring and visualizing temperature and compaction
operations. Extending this research we then describe the process that
we developed to measure, process, and meaningfully visualize
temperature and compaction data to HMA paving and rolling
operators using the AsphaltOpen application. We conclude by
discussing the tool in the context of the changing business environ-
ment for construction companies, the advantages it offers to improve
the HMA paving process, and by sketching our future vision of how our
data collection, processing, and visualization process can improve the
HMA asphalt paving process in general.
2. HMA paving simulation and process monitoring tools
As mentioned in the Introduction, researchers have developed tools
that promise contractors help with understanding and controlling
asphalt paving operations better. These previous research efforts aimed
at developing graphical representations of road construction equipment
to allow for process monitoring and quality control. In summary, two
different types of tools exist: HMA paving simulation tools and HMA
paving process monitoring and control tools. This section will briefly
introduce these two different types of tools.
The technological core of most process monitoring and control tools
is the global positioning system (GPS) to measure machine movements.
These tools that are mostly integrated in the compaction roller,
transform the GPS measurements into geometrical representations,
and develop graphical illustrations of the compaction effort. One goal of
such GPS based systems is to improve the work of machine operators
with real time data visualizations and, in this way, improve the overall
productivity of site work [9,10]. Researchers have, for example,
developed GPS systems to assist roller operators with information
about the how often they passed a certain part of the road and with
suggestions for the right speed they should continue their operations
[11–13]. In this way, these systems are able to track multiple compactors
and display to roller operators the total number of compaction passes
achieved over the roadway surface [14]. Systems exist that complement
these visualization capabilities with process optimization functionality,
such as the Automated Paving system (AUTOPAVE) [15].
Using GPS machine path information, Intelligent Compaction (IC)
rollers can link real-time compaction data to further improve the
possibilities for job-integrated process measurement and control [16]. IC
rollers provide real-time continuous verification of in-situ soil
properties over the entire compaction area [17]. Intelligent Compaction
(IC) rollers use either accelerometers and/or machine energy to
calculate an index parameter related to modulus, stiffness, or bearing
capacity of underlying layers. The roller's control system uses this
information to determine whether to increase or decrease compaction
energy by automatically adjusting the internal mechanical parameters
of the roller. All IC rollers essentially use a combination of three different
parameters: amplitude, frequency, and speed, to modify the compaction
energy delivered by a roller of specific mass and diameter. Zambrano et
al. [6] provide an in depth review about the state of the art of IC and
475
highlights several advantages such systems may have for the quality
control and quality assurance of soil compaction.
Next to these process control and monitoring tools, researchers also
developed simulation tools that allow for the modeling of asphalt paving
operations. Simulation algorithms based on finite difference algorithms
(see for example [18,19]) can predict pavement temperature profiles
and cooling rates based on input data related to these physical and
environmental factors. Based on these algorithms researchers have
developed HMA paving tools that allow for the simulation of operations
in relation to the physical properties of the HMA [1,3]. However, most of
these tools do not allow for an integrated simulation of compaction
operations, achieved compaction grade, and temperature. To the best of
our knowledge, only Turkiyyah [20] specifically developed a tool that
accounts for temperature and machine movements at the same time. He
developed the SIMPAVE simulation tool for planning pavement
construction and to train students and workers in the road construction
industry. The SIMPAVE planning software enables users to simulate
resources for a road construction project from HMA plant to the finished
paved road. The simulator uses a set of models that allow the simulation
of compaction, and temperature-dependent HMA characteristics.
In the end, however, even the very advanced SIMPAVE is only a
training and management simulation model that does not work with
data collected from real world asphalting operations. Such tempera-
ture simulation tools mainly fail to simulate and model real world
HMA paving efforts since it is not easy to exactly determine all the
necessary input data for the existing simulation algorithms upfront
because of the temperature differentials that occur in the HMA during
asphalting operations [21]. An approach to grasp asphalt temperature
that relies less on mathematical simulation and more on measurement
data seems to be more appropriate. This paper presents our research
during which we developed a visualization tool to help contractors to
understand HMA temperature in relation to machine operations that
can overcome the problems we outline earlier.
3. Methodology
While the earlier described use of simulation tools has the
potential to improve the understanding of contractors about their
operations to a great extent, they need to be complemented with
methods to visualize data measured during “real world” paving
operations. Such visualization methods should be developed in close
collaboration with practitioners in action research efforts to ensure
that the methods do have the potential to truly increase the
understanding of HMA paving operators [22,23]. In our research
effort to develop such visualization methods we, therefore, chose to
work closely together with practitioners using action research
methodologies. We started our action research effort by conducting
one-on-one site interviews with approximately thirty machine
operators to gain insights into the operational strategies in the HMA
process from a practical perspective [8]. Only after this initial research
work, did we start with the iterative development of the visualization
tool itself by working together with the professionals on two “real
world” cases (Table 1).
Next to understanding the practical problems that exist during
HMA paving operations, the action research approach allowed us to
test the practical utility of several new technologies used to collect
data during HMA paving and compaction operations. On the two
projects, we tested various GPS receivers, infrared cameras, laser line
scanners, and other measurement devices (Table 2).
The action research approach also allowed us to develop and test
several preprocessing steps and algorithms that allow for a quick and
easy filtering of data collected from on-site asphalt paving operations.
Finally, to understand how to best visualize temperature and machine
operation data we experimented with a number of visualization
technologies throughout our research effort. To enable us to quickly
prototype several visualization techniques we used Microsoft Excel
476 S.R. Miller et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 474–481

Table 1 4. Research results

Case projects used to iteratively develop the measurement process and the
visualization tool.
Despite the iterative character of the action research methodology
Project 1 we will present the research results in a linear manner to allow
Description Construction of a test section on the A35 Freeway readers to easily understand the final outcomes of this research. We
in Hengelo, The Netherlands
will start this section summarizing the required data and visualization
Process supported Visualizing HMA temperature and compaction
Action research team 1 Ph.D. student & 2 researchers functions that allow operators to understand their paving processes
Asphalt paving and compaction team (8 employees) better. We will then describe the on-site data collection method and
4 project team members how we developed the AsphaltOpen prototype application to
Project specific Contractor aim: to improve the homogeneity of the
visualize the collected data. Closing the result section we will then
characteristics porous asphalt mix during production, transport and
construction
present results of the final validation of the prototype applications
Research team aim: to develop the data collection with the project team of one of the action research case projects.
method and visualizations
System development Develop data collection method 4.1. Requirement analysis
Develop temperature and compaction visualizations

Project 2
Description Road construction in an industrial area in Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
Process supported Visualizing HMA temperature and compaction
Action research team 1 Ph.D. student & 1 researcher
Asphalt paving and compaction team (9 members)
2 laboratory technicians
3 project team members
Project specific Contractor aim: to improve temperature homogeneity
characteristics of two asphalt
mixes viz. asphalt concrete base course and stone mastic
asphalt
System development Refine data collection method
Refine temperature and compaction visualizations
and Matlab. Following the action research strategy, we discussed the
utility of each of the visualization prototypes with the operators and
managers. Over time, this enabled us to arrive at ways to visualize the
data that, according to the opinion of the operators and managers, is
helpful to understand Asphalting Operations. We then continued to
integrate the visualization functions that were helpful with improving
the operators' understanding in the Java3D based visualization tool
AsphaltOpen that allows for an overlay of the different visualization
functions to help operators to get a holistic understanding of their
paving operations. In a final research step, we ensured the working of
the developed prototype in a validation workshop with one of the
paving crews of the case projects.
The rest of this paper describes the final outcomes of this research
with respect to data collection, preprocessing, and visualization.
During the earlier described action research effort on the two
projects, we were able to identify the requirements that allow
operators to get a better understanding of their asphalt paving efforts.
This sub-section briefly summarizes these requirements in relation to
the problems that we were able to identify by discussing the collected
data and our initial Excel and Matlab based visualization prototypes
with the practitioners. Table 3 empirically underlines the need for
these requirements by providing illustrative quotes from our discus-
sions and dialogs with machine operators.
The first problem that practitioners face during asphalt paving
operations that we were able to identify was that operators had difficulties
in understanding the effect of large differences in the delivery
temperature of the asphalt on compaction operations. The temperature
differentials were mainly caused by an irregular supply of asphalt or
inconsistencies in the paver's operations. An understanding of tempera-
ture differentials is crucial because they lead to density differentials in the
HMA which in turn, could lead to premature failure of the road pavement
[24–26]. Hence, to allow for a better understanding a first requirement is a
temperature visualization function that allows users to understand how
the temperature varies at asphalting time and the effect this has on
compaction operations.
The second problem we identified on the two projects shows that
operators have the problem of not knowing when and where to
compact and that performance problems may occur when operators
compact outside of a desirable minimum and maximum temperature
threshold for compaction. Data and visualizations that illustrate the
temperature profile of the mat in relation to the temperature
“window of opportunity” from asphalting operations should support
operators with understanding their own compaction processes.

Table 2
Mobile measuring devices used during the HMA paving process.

Task Instrument Method Measurement accuracy and frequency

Monitor weather conditions
Measure asphalt surface temperature
behind paver screed
Measure asphalt surface temperature
behind paver screed
Measure asphalt surface temperature
behind paver screed
Measure surface temperature
cooling rate
Measure in-asphalt
temperature cooling rate
Monitor the movements of all
asphalt paving machinery
Measure asphalt density
Record noteworthy incidents
on site
Vantage Pro 2 weather
station
A handheld FLIR InfraCAM
FLIR A320 ThermaCAM
Raytech line scanner
3 handheld FLIR InfraCAMs
Voltcraft plus—2 channel
thermometer
Trimble™ SPS 851 GPS
receivers
2 nuclear density gauges
Sony IC recorder
Weather station set up next to the
construction site to log local conditions
Infrared images taken manually
Camera is mounted on the back of the
HMA asphalt paver.
Laser line scanner mounted on the back
of the asphalt paver
Cameras set up on tripods at 3 fixed
positions approx. 250 m apart
Thermo-coupler placed in the asphalt layer
Base station set up on the construction site
and GPS receivers mounted on the HMA
paver and compaction rollers.
Density measured after every roller pass
at the 3 fixed temperature logging positions
Record incidents as they occur
Ambient temperature, wind speed, relative humidity
and solar radiation data logged at 5-minute intervals
Every 10 m behind the HMA asphalt paver screed
Infrared images are taken automatically at 5-second intervals.
Camera is focused on the HMA behind the paver screed
A laser scans the asphalt's surface temperature across the
width of the road at preset intervals and at resolutions of
128 pixels and higher
Images taken manually every 30 s
Temperature logged automatically every 30 s
Differential GPS accuracy of b10 cm, data logged at
1-second intervals
 S.R. Miller et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 474–481 477

Table 3
Quotes from discussions with HMA construction teams.

Temperature visualization
Temperature threshold visualization
Machine path and roller pass visualization
• “.... before 10:00 and after 15:00 we have problems. It's better to pave between the hours of 10:00 and 15:00 since you know there
will be a constant supply of asphalt. For these projects maybe you should be mixing the asphalt the night before and then storing these
in containers next to the job site. But, then you have the problem of keeping the mix heated.”
• “I've measured this several times and the first load is consistently colder.”
• “I often use the light poles or trees in the area to mark out which zone I should be compacting in. This helps me to keep track
of where I am and where I should be.”
• “I tend to work blindly without temperature information and look at the color of the asphalt. Then at night I have a problem ....”
• “The roller is 1.8 m wide and the lane is 4.5 m wide. The middle then gets double the passes. We use the same roller patterns
moving from right to centre; then from centre to left and vice versa. It's logical”
• “If we are going (compacting) too close to the side, it (the asphalt surfacing) is going to crack.”

Different conditions may require that the “window of opportunity” for
compaction may vary during a single HMA paving operation
depending on the mix temperature at arrival. It may also shorten or
lengthen depending on the rate of cooling of the asphalt mix.
The third problem we encountered during our action research efforts
were several operational discontinuities. For example, problems at the
asphalt plant frequently resulted in the haul trucks arriving late on the
construction site. This in turn, resulted in the paver stopping on several
occasions while waiting for asphalt. The paver stops subsequently
requiring that roller operators change their compaction strategies so
that they could compact the cooler areas before the mix had cooled
below the minimum compaction temperature. To gain an overall view of
construction operations and identify operational discontinuities, the
third requirement we identified is, therefore, the visualizations of
machine paths that show when haul trucks arrive on the construction
site, the consistency in paving operations and the extent of cooperation
between the paver and rollers.
Finally, we found that the extent of compaction on the two studied
projects was not uniform. When looking at the cross section of the
road, the density in the center is consistently higher than the density
at the edges showing that operators are prone to create more overlap
in the center of the road. This overlapping—deliberate or not—causes
over-compaction and under-compaction in various areas of the
pavement and so results in non-uniform compaction which leads to
quality issues [14,27]. For example, under-compaction in the edges
results in the wheel path area receiving insufficient compaction. To
allow for a better understanding of the level of compaction
functionality is required to visualize data about the number of roller
passes for each part of the road. In the next section, we will describe
the final process of collecting the necessary data for the four earlier
described requirements from on-site asphalt paving operations that
emerged out of the action research iterations.
4.2. On site data collection and data pre-processing method
To collect GPS data of the machinery operations during an asphalt
paving project, our process involves the setting up of a stationery GPS
base station next to the construction site and the mounting of GPS
receivers on the moving asphalt machinery, the HMA asphalt paver,
and the roller compactors. To accurately map the asphalt machinery's
positions and turning movements during paving and compaction
operations we suggest collecting data with an accuracy of less than
10 cm.
To measure temperature data, the process suggests to collect
asphalt surface temperature data collected using a laser line
temperature scanner. The researcher can mount the line scanner
centrally on the paver and in such a way that it views the entire width
of the paver screed thereby capturing the HMA temperature at the
time of asphalting directly behind the screed. The data collection
process requires to store the real time temperature data with a
measurement timestamp within a spreadsheet or a database to allow
for a later overlay with the measured GPS machine path data.
After data collection, the process entails the transfer of GPS and
temperature data to a personal computer for pre-processing. To filter
any GPS “noise” or outliners that may occur when the GPS is unavailable
due to obstructions or high buildings that may be in the vicinity of the
HMA paving work, we implemented a pre-processing algorithm in
Visual Basic. The algorithm takes the GPS coordinates that describe the
road's boundaries in polygonal form and the unfiltered GPS machinery
path data as input. Researchers can obtain the data of the road boundary
using road design drawings or with a preconstruction site calibration
data measurement exercise [28]. It then uses the crossing test, the
fastest point-in-polygon algorithm that does not use pre-processing
[29], to filter each of the machinery path points that lie within the road's
polygon. We strongly suggest storing all preprocessed data into a
relational database. Such a database can serve, if filled with weather
data, temperature data and GPS data from multiple past projects, as a
record of all historical paving operations of a HMA paving company. This
is a valuable archive in case of quality issues and road surface failure.
After the import in the database, researchers and practitioners can then
use the client visualization applications to visualize the information in
the database. The next section describes the visualization tool,
AsphaltOpen that we developed during our research efforts.
4.3. AsphaltOpen visualization tool
Next to the process of data collection that converged from this
research, we also integrated the different visualization functions that
emerged during the action research effort into one tool: the
AsphaltOpen data visualization client. We developed the visualization
client in Java using the 3D Graphic libraries Java3D as a stand-alone PC
application that users have to install on their client machines. The
visualization client is available as Open Source [30], in case interested
readers want to take an in-depth look at the source code.
The application overall architecture allows users to connect to a
database server and select a specific project database on it. After
selection, the application reads the initial asphalting temperature and
the GPS points of the machine paths into local memory and displays
the project data at the start of the project. The applications display the
street from a birds-eye view and allow users to dynamically zoom into
the road and to pan the road to the left, right, up, and down. Overall,
the application visualizes the street surface as a triangle patch.
Several time navigation functions allow users to navigate in time.
We defined the start time of the project as either the earliest
timestamp associated with the initial temperature data of the road
surface or with the earliest timestamp that is associated with a GPS
machine path point. We defined the end time of the project vice-versa.
In between the start and end time AsphaltOpen discretizes 100 time
steps that allow for a visualization of animations that appear
continuous to users. Using this general user interface, AsphaltOpen
provides four specific visualization functions that users can also
overlay with each other to allow for an integrated visualization of
different data types: HMA Temperature Visualization, Temperature
Threshold Window Visualization, Machine Path Visualization and
Aggregated Compaction Pass Visualization. In the next section, we
478 S.R. Miller et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 474–481

describe each of the four functionalities in detail in the context of

temperature and compaction problems encountered on the two
studied projects.

4.3.1. HMA temperature visualization for each discretized part of the

road
The temperature visualization function allows users to understand
how the temperature varies at asphalting time and the effect this has
on compaction operations. It visualizes the extent of temperature
homogeneity as the asphalt mix leaves the paver screed. Therefore,
the application offers two functionalities to display the surface
temperature of the street's triangle patch. First, the application can
visualize the initial asphalting temperature without considering HMA
cooling. Additionally, the application can visualize how asphalted
parts of the road cool over time. Hereby, the application calculates the
Fig. 1. HMA temperature visualization.
respective temperature of each street surface point according to the
following generic asphalt cooling formula
read from the database that are closest to the 100 discretized time steps
Cw ti of the navigation function. Due to linear animation between points, the
Tti = Tt0 ⁎e ⁎
machine path function is independent from the 100 discretized time
steps of the animation functionality. Users have the possibility to turn on
With or off the visualization of machines for each of the machine types that
are part of HMA asphalting operations: Asphalt pavers, asphalt rollers,
Tt is the asphalt surface temperature at time t, and asphalt delivery trucks. The application visualizes machines as
t0 is the initial time, either abstracted squares or by using rendered photorealistic objects. In
ti is the time relative to the initial time t0, and abstracted visualization mode, the application colors different machines
Cw is the cooling rate constant depending on ambient weather of the same project differently to allow users the possibility to
conditions. distinguish between them (Fig. 3).

AsphaltOpen has two different possibilities to visualize tempera-
tures. The first function simply visualizes the temperature by displaying
a numeric text with every path point. The second function visualizes the
temperature using a color scheme. In particular, it displays street surface
points in grey if the selected point in time is before the timestamp that is
associated with the asphalting time of the point. At user selected times
that are after a surface point's timestamp, the application visualizes the
street point's temperature using a linear temperature scale that ranges
from a dark blue to a dark red. All colors representing temperatures in
between these two extremes are linearly interpolated using the HSB
color scale [31]. To visualize the street patch's temperature independent
from the spatial accuracy of the measurements, the application linearly
interpolates the colors of the three different street points over each of
the patch's triangles (Fig. 1).
4.3.4. Aggregated compaction pass visualization for each discretized part
of the road
AsphaltOpen's compaction pass visualization shows whether
compaction has been applied uniformly over the entire length and
width of the road. To enable users to understand the amount of
compaction for different parts of the road, AsphaltOpen calculates
aggregated roller passes for each of the road points of the street. This
algorithm works in two steps. In the first step, the algorithm calculates
a number of polygons for each of the HMA rollers by considering the
rollers' direction changes. Every time the angle between three
consecutive roller GPS path points is greater than 90°, the algorithm
starts a new polygon. In the second step, the algorithm then uses the
point in polygon function to aggregate the number of roller passes for
every temperature point of the road. Each time a temperature point

4.3.2. Temperature threshold window visualization functionality

AsphaltOpen's temperature threshold window visualization function
makes it possible to display certain maximum and minimum temperature
thresholds for the asphalt mix. To do so users can enter a maximum
temperature at which compaction should ideally start, and a minimum
threshold temperature, the temperature at which compaction should
stop. AsphaltOpen then displays parts of the road that are at a certain time
step below the minimum temperature as blue, parts of the road that are
above the maximum threshold temperature as red, and parts of the road
that are between the threshold as green. This function offers users the
possibility to understand roller operations better in relation to certain
temperature windows that users believe are optimal for paving (Fig. 2).

4.3.3. Machine path visualization

To gain an overall view of construction operations and identify
operational discontinuities, AsphaltOpen uses machine path visualiza-
tions to show when haul trucks arrive on the construction site, the
consistency in paving operations and the extent of cooperation between
the paver and rollers. In particular, the machine path visualization
shows whether there is any consistency in the roller patterns that
operators have applied. The application visualizes the machine paths as
linear interpolated animations between the GPS measurement points Fig. 2. Temperature threshold window visualization.
 S.R. Miller et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 474–481
Fig. 3. Machine path visualization.
lies within one of the pass polygons a counter that is stored with each
temperature point is increased by one. AsphaltOpen executes the
algorithm once, on initial reading of the information for one project
from the database for each of the 100 time steps. In this way, the
application avoids performance bottle necks during use when users
directly interact with the visualization functionality (Fig. 4).
4.3.5. Integrating temperature and compaction
AsphaltOpen allows users to use all the aforementioned visualization
functions in isolation or to create overlays of different functions. So it is,
for example, possible to combine the compaction pass visualization with
the temperature threshold window visualization to support contractors
to understand when operators compacted parts of the road during a
specific ideal temperature window and when they compacted other
parts of the road while the HMA mat was either already too cold or still
too hot (Fig. 5).
4.4. Validating AsphaltOpen
Complementing our action research strategy that already provides
for a validation during the iterative development of the visualization
functions we additionally tested the utility of the AsphaltOpen
software with a two-hour long feedback workshop with one of the
two cases' construction teams. Before the workshop we prepared a
database for the project in question and tested the technical capability
of the AsphaltOpen software to visualize the project data adequately.
Fig. 4. Compaction pass visualization.
479
Fig. 5. Integrating HMA temperature and compaction.
Table 4 shows the number of data points collected over a two night
period on this project. The test satisfactorily showed that the
AsphaltOpen application can handle the rather large amount of data
that is collected if the here presented data collection process is
followed on a “real world” project.
All members of the construction team attended the workshop: the
site supervisor, the paver operator, screed operators, roller compactor
operators and other general workers involved in the process. Additional
persons allowed to attend were the laboratory technicians responsible
for all density measurements, the responsible project managers and
asphalt managers/directors for the region. We presented the findings of
the measurement and monitoring exercise inviting the workshop
participants to challenge, discuss and debate the findings at any point.
All discussions were recorded, transcribed afterwards and coded in four
themes: comments with respect to variability in HMA temperature,
comments concerned with the variability in HMA compaction,
perceived benefits of the visualizations, and suggestions for future
improvements of the developed visualizations.
During the workshop, most operators agreed that the temperature
visualizations make the variability in temperature explicit and assists
in highlighting poor operational practices. An example of such a
practice is the tendency that paver operators empty the paver hopper
completely which shows up in the temperature visualizations as cyclic
cool areas. A paver operator explains the extent of the problem and
how it could possibly have been worsened: “The asphalt in the sides of
the truck is normally colder than the rest of the load and the sides of the
hopper were also colder. This combined with the fact that the last
material to stay in the hopper was that on the sides because the conveyor
belt system pushes out the middle, hotter material first, probably
increased the segregation problem if the hopper was not kept full during
paving operations.” The temperature visualization also provides
confirmation of what operators had previously known intuitively.
Upon seeing the variability in temperature homogeneity, a screed
operator remarks: “We knew about this (temperature variability). Now
it is made explicit.”
The initial Excel and Matlab visualizations we developed, show
that the main problem for roller operators is knowing when and
where to compact. AsphaltOpen's temperature threshold zones
therefore show the ideal temperature zones in which compaction
should be taking place and hence improve operators understanding of
the relationship between asphalt temperature and compaction. The
usefulness of this temperature threshold function is illustrated by a
roller operator's comment: “I now have a better understanding of the
effect of asphalt temperature on compaction operations and the final
density of the layer and will use the cooling rate in a positive way to
480 S.R. Miller et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 474–481

Table 4
Project data collected on the A35 Freeway.

Duration of GPS data collection GPS points collected Temperature Triangles

points
Wednesday Thursday Wednesday Thursday

Roller 1 21:51–05:40 20:57–03:33 28 276 24 982

Roller 2 22:01–05:39 20:54–03:39 27 521 24 321
Paver 21:35–04:48 20:48–03:34 24 942 24 362
Total 80 739 73 665 351 607

improve what I do.” This recognition that temperature is an important operational efficiency of HMA paving projects. In the long run, we
parameter to consider during compaction operations is evidence of expect that such algorithms can then serve as input for automated
the usefulness of AsphaltOpen's overlay functions i.e. combining the machine guided asphalt operations.
compaction pass visualization with the temperature threshold
window visualization to support operator's understanding of when
6. Conclusion
and where to compact.
According to the operators, seeing their work post-construction in
This paper describes a data collection process and a visualization tool
AsphaltOpen provides confirmation that the operational choices they
to support practitioners with understanding asphalting operations
made were indeed correct. A site supervisor says: “It (the measurements)
better. We developed the process and the visualization tool using an
proves the decisions we took were correct.” A roller operator adds: “You
action research approach during which we worked closely together with
can check whether you applied the correct patterns. You can check if you
two asphalting crews of Dutch contractors. The paper summarizes the
have done your work properly.” The usefulness of the tool for learning and
results of this iterative action research by describing the final process that
reflection purposes is highlighted by two operator's comments: “We
converged from the iterations and that uses temperature sensors to
learnt from the data. It is good to see what you did during construction”
measure HMA surface temperature data and asphalt temperature data.
and: “Now we know more about quality issues.”
Further the process outlines how to collect and preprocess GPS machine
The validation workshop showed that AsphaltOpen is beneficial in
path data. The paper also describes how AsphaltOpen, an application that
a number of ways. For many operators this was the first time they
integrates different visualization functions, was useful for practitioners to
received explicit feedback on how they had carried out their work. It
understand their operations. AsphaltOpen converts, calibrates, filters,
was a first opportunity to visualize their own work and relate to what
and structures data measured with the data collection process and offers
they were doing and why. Moreover, AsphaltOpen's overlay functions
four visualization functions that allow contractors to monitor and analyze
integrate two complex asphalt phenomena that HMA construction
the initial temperatures and the cooling processes at different points over
teams normally struggle with and which in our opinion, cause the
time: Machine Path Visualizations, HMA Temperature Visualizations,
most variability problems. The overlays improve understanding of the
Aggregated Roller Pass Visualizations, and Temperature Threshold
interdependencies between temperature and compaction. Overall, we
Window Visualizations. Next to the development of the tool in short
conclude that the explicit AsphaltOpen visualizations can be used to
iterative steps together with practitioners, we validated the tool within a
confront the operational choices that operators make and in so doing,
workshop with one of the asphalt paving crews. The results of the
HMA construction teams can make improvements to their work
workshop provided additional evidence that with these four visualization
processes.
functions and the possibility to overlay these visualizations, AsphaltOpen
provides HMA contractors insights into the physical characteristics of the
5. Suggestions for future development
material, into consistency of the paving operations, and into potential
quality issues. Therefore, we expect that the data collection process and
To further improve on the AsphaltOpen visualization environment
AsphaltOpen are steps to help the HMA paving industry to move from an
we suggest that researchers in the future develop visualization
industry that operates based on tradition and custom towards one that
functions that enable matching of the current mathematical prediction
more and more moves its operations towards evidence based practices.
for asphalt cooling with measured data of the asphalt's surface
temperature, inner temperature, and core density. Additionally,
researchers can use the existing application and implement function- Acknowledgments
ality to match the HMA paving process information with data from
non-destructive and destructive tests of the road's structural quality. The authors would like to acknowledge the University of Twente's
In this way, it will be possible for the research community to Asphalt Paving Research and Innovation units' (ASPARi) network of
scientifically evaluate the effects of different asphalt paving operations contractors for their gracious assistance and funding of this research.
on the final quality of the road. In particular, we thank the construction company BAM Wegen for
Due to its database structure, we also suggest that researchers start giving us access to their asphalt paving projects.
collecting data of a large number of historical projects that they can
then use for meaningful statistical process analyses. Companies can References
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