PRODUCTIVITY plus QUALITY CONTROL.(Paving Innovations)

PRODUCTIVITY plus QUALITY CONTROL

By Kim Berndtson

Available technology helps smooth the path to compaction specs

Technology designed to help you achieve your soil and asphalt compaction objectives has made tremendous headway in recent years, and is continuing to evolve at a relatively rapid pace. Its ultimate goal is to quantify density on the run -- i.e., identify density in real time under the roller.

While the technology isn't quite there yet, there are several options currently available that can help you quickly and effectively reach target densities.

Monitoring soil stiffness

Soil compaction has essentially led the way with onboard compaction monitoring. As early as the 1980s, Europeans were using these systems to help determine the effectiveness of the compaction process. Similar systems began appearing in the U.S. earlier this decade.

At the heart of onboard compaction monitors is an accelerometer that measures the response or rebound of the drum in respect to the frame.

This measurement allows a stiffness value to be displayed and correlated to density. (It's important to note that stiffness is not the same as density.)

For example, loose, lightly compacted soil or asphalt will have a smaller response or rebound. "As you make successive passes, you typically will get a higher degree of rebound and a higher reading," notes Dave Dennison, BOMAG Americas.

This information can be used by an intelligent compaction roller -- a roller equipped with a documentation …