Lab Accreditation

Editor’s Note: Read the February issue for findings from the Florida Department of Transportation’s experience with HFSTs over time. High friction surface treatments (HFST) provide enhanced pavement friction in critical safety locations such as horizontal curves and bridge decks. HFSTs are a thin layer of durable, high friction aggregate bonded to an existing pavement surface […]

Typically, standards voted on within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) don’t impact the asphalt industry directly, according to Ray Brown, Ph.D., director emeritus at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University. This truism has changed to some extent with the adoption of ISO 17025 calibration of measurement standards by the American […]

In the past, technology hadn’t paved the way for the successful use of ground tire rubber (GTR) in asphalt mix designs the way it has today. Now we have the means to grind tires “finer.” We can use advanced mixing chemicals that facilitate the use of wet process and dry crumb rubber modified asphalt cements […]

It may sound like a contradiction to use combustion to lower emissions, but industry has both smart operations and ever-advancing technology to reach the goal of more environmentally friendly output. From training your plant operator on best practices to tuning your existing burner for optimum efficiency for your specific production capacity to installing newly designed […]

Researchers at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University in Alabama study failed as well as successful experimental sections on their pavement test track. The latest three-year research cycle at the track includes a special focus group of pavement sections they hope will fail. The reason: they learn as much from evaluating […]

At the end of the paving shift, when you lift up the screed and pull away, think about what you leave for tomorrow’s take-off. Let’s prepare for a successful start by finishing off right. Get the crew together at the end of the pull and make a clean transverse joint for tomorrow’s start. First, you’ll […]

Car manufacturers use specially built test tracks to develop new vehicles and to test vehicles already in production. Many different track sections are needed such as uneven “torture tracks” and high speed tracks with a very smooth surface. In 1919, Opel built its first test track. Rides with a maximum speed of 87 miles per […]