Quality Control of Asphalt Pavement

The production of asphalt follows procedures different than those used in most manufacturing. In the asphalt pavement industry, the owners' engineer (such as state or city) describes the product, not in terms of an end product but in terms of materials and processing methods. Also, the owners' engineering forces conduct the control on the materials and finished product. The problems encountered in controlling the quality of asphalt pavement and the efforts some organizations are making in assuming responsibility for control of quality of the asphalt pavement they produce is described. Automatic batching equipment that can be used to produce more uniform asphalt mixtures and automatic screed controls that permit placing the pavement to a reference profile such as a stringline is examined.