U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Focus
| Accelerating Infrastructure Innovations |
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-06-019
Date: October 2005
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), Carolina Asphalt Pavement Association, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently partnered on an Innovative Technology Showcase to demonstrate the effectiveness of the new generation of pavement compactors. This new generation includes such technology as a vibratory, rubber-tired roller; an oscillatory/vibratory steel-wheeled roller featuring horizontal shear compaction; and rollers with "intelligent compaction." The showcase evaluated the effectiveness of each of these new compaction systems as a solution for density control. "We provided a forum for a select number of innovative equipment manufacturers to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technology represented by their equipment in providing the required level of uniform density," says Tom Deddens of FHWA.
In collaboration with one of NCDOT's contractors, S.T. Wooten Corporation, the new equipment was used to compact a segment of both a 12.5-mm (0.49-in) surface course on I-95 near Wilson, North Carolina, and a 9.5-mm (0.37-in) surface course on NC-117 near Goldsboro, North Carolina. NCDOT then performed extensive material and in-place density testing of the pavement. The showcase provided a forum as well for the demonstration of innovative pavement density and material characteristic sensing equipment. In addition, new infrared camera equipment was used to assess the uniformity of mat temperature at the time of compaction.
The results from the Innovative Technology Showcase will be presented at the EXPO-East event, to be held February 15-18, 2006, in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information about EXPO-East, contact Loretta Miles at Cygnus Expos, 877-250-8268 (email: loretta.miles@cygnusexpos.com), or visit www.nationalpavementexpo.com. For more information about the showcase, contact Tom Deddens at FHWA, 202-366-1557 (fax: 202-366-9981; email: tom.deddens@fhwa.dot.gov), or Wiley Jones at NCDOT, 919-733-3579 (email: wwjones@dot.state.nc.us).
| "We provided a forum for a select number of innovative equipment manufacturers to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technology represented by their equipment in providing the required level of uniform density." |
