Quality Assurance of Hot Mix Asphalt Pavements Using the Intelligent Asphalt Compaction Analyzer

Abstract

Adequate compaction of asphalt pavements during their construction is essential to the long-term performance of the pavement. Current quality control techniques determine the quality at a limited number of points and are not indicative of the overall quality of the pavement. In this paper, the intelligent asphalt compaction analyzer (IACA) is used to estimate the density of an asphalt pavement during its construction and thereby determine the overall quality of compaction. A comparison of these estimates with the percent within limits (PWL) calculations based on roadway cores demonstrates that the IACA can be effectively used as a nondestructive quality assurance (QA) tool. Further, since the IACA continuously estimates the density of the asphalt in real time, inadequate compaction can be addressed during the construction, thereby improving the overall quality of pavement. Thus, the IACA can also serve as a valuable quality control (QC) tool during the construction.