amir asphalt compactor trial #3 hwy. 28 contract … · ministry of transportation, ontario 1 amir...

Ministry of Transportation, Ontario

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AMIR Asphalt Compactor Trial #3

Hwy. 28 Contract 2011-4007

Frank Pinder P.Eng Head, Quality Assurance Section

MTO, Operations Office, East Region


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Presentation Outline:

• Hwy. 28 Test Section Details• AMIR Roller - Pre-contract Preparation• Test Section Construction

• Steel Roller• AMIR - Observed Benefits• AMIR - Challenges

• Sampling and Testing Plan• Preliminary results

• Next Steps• Acknowledgements


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Cont: 2011-4007Hwy: 28Location:

Peterborough / Haliburton County Boundary N’ly to Haliburton / Hastings County Boundary

Constructed: September 13, 2012.

Contractor:

Test Section Details:


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SBL NBL

250m Control Section Normal Compaction Process

250m AMIR Test Section AMIR Asphalt Compactor

Test Section Layout• 250m long, both lanes;• placed end-to-end, same day

Project Features:• 40mm Superpave 12.5 Surface

over 60mm SP 19 over pulverized base;

• PGAC 58-40 Trial – highly polymer-modified;

• 0.5m single lift partial paved shoulders;

• Centerline joint construction observed.

Test Section Details:


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AMIR Roller – Pre-contract Preparation by

• Replaced damaged rubber belts;

• Cleaned fuel tank and purged fuel system;

• Added master “power- off” switch and replaced battery

• Welded a few cracks in frame


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AMIR Roller – Pre-contract Preparation by

Test on sand

Test on asphalt

Russ Perry, Highway Division Manager, operating AMIRChecking compaction

• conducted at Tomlinson’s asphalt plant in Ottawa;

• went well; confirmed AMIR was ready for the field trial


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Pre-construction Hwy. 28 – Sept. 13, 2012 Start:

• MTO staff from East Region and Central Region in attendance;

• Tailgate meeting with Contractor staff prior to start


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Steel Control Section:• Standard compaction equipment and operation; Steel vibratory, rubber tired and steel finish.

Steel vibratory break-down roller behind paver

Rubber-tired roller and steel finishing roller off in the distance


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Steel Control Section:

Open texture and cracks perpendicular to direction of roller

• appearance after steel roller;


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Steel Control Section:

Cracks still under the surface ?

steel + rubber

Rubber-tired roller improves surface appearance


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Steel Control to AMIR Test Section Transition:• Only the AMIR roller was allowed on test section

AMIR

steel

Hwy. 28 Looking south (west)


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• compaction evident; each roller pass was (visually) compressing the mat;

• Nuclear gauge consistently indicated low compaction, 90% +/- and even lower;

•expect core results to be good, based on similar experience from previous trials (93.1% ave. from Thousand Islands Parkway Trial)

AMIR – Observed Benefits: Excellent Compaction:


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Excellent Texture:

• after 1 roller pass, texture is tight;

• Mat has a uniform appearance in all directions;

AMIR – Observed Benefits:


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Neat Vertical Edges at Lane Edges:

• good compaction and minimal lateral shoving of asphalt at EP


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Lower permeability = Longer Life

Steel Roller AMIR Roller(cm/s X 1000) (cm/s X 1000)

Midlane 1.16 0.58 2.0Centerline Edges 6.20 1.53 4.1Outside Edges 3.42 1.31 2.6

Unrestrained Edges 3.90 1.19 3.3Ave. All 3.59 1.11 3.2

In‐situ Permeability Comparison

Sample LocationFactor of

Improvement


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AMIR - Potential Benefits:

Improved Smoothness?• No chatter from vibratory roller – TBD• Smoothness to be measured with high speed profiler


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AMIR - Potential Benefits:Centerline Joint Performance?• Improved due to lower permeability and higher compaction at lane edges?


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AMIR - Challenges:Roller Operation:• Tomlinson manager Russ Perry and mechanic Stewart Allan both operated the AMIR roller very effectively; with care and precision;

• improved result compared to previous trials !


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AMIR - Challenges:

Roller Marks:• Source of some

roller marks easily addressed?

Asphalt fines on scraper bar fall on surface

Low clearance of guide plate between main rollers shoves asphalt when turning


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AMIR - Challenges:

Roller Marks:

• Unusual visual appearance;

• Cosmetic or a performance problem? TBD

Some roller marks remain after final compaction


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AMIR - Challenges:

Roller Pick-up:

• Special PGAC 58-40 used in trial (very sticky);

• Excessive use of unapproved degreasing solution used to complete the trial;

• Better solution needed;

• Broader industry problem?


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Asphalt Core Sampling and Testing Plan:Random Core Sample Layout

(Duplicated for AMIR and Control Sections)

-4.0

-3.0

-2.0

-1.0

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

12875 12925 12975 13025 13075

Station (m)

Offs

et (m

)

SBL’s

NBL’s

- 30 150mm diametre cores taken from AMIR and Control Sections - Cores to be tested for compaction and indirect tensile strength


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In-situ Asphalt Permeability Testing Plan:

SBL’s

NBL’s

10 permeability tests conducted in each of the AMIR and Control Sections focused on lane edges and centreline of lanes

Random Permeability Test Locations

-4.0

-3.0

-2.0

-1.0

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

10000 10050 10100 10150 10200 10250

Station

Off

set f

rom

CL


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Next Steps:

• Complete testing and evaluate results of all 3 trial contracts;• Carleton to prepare report(s) and present to MTO and

broader technical community;• Carleton and MTO to monitor performance of trials;• Confirm and document the benefits to the AMIR

technology;• Consider opportunities for further study and

additional trials on MTO contracts;• Other?


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Acknowledgements:• Thanks to Tomlinson Group for supporting the AMIR trial on Hwy 28 and

accommodating the ministry’s scheduling requirements;• Especially Bert Hendriks, Russ Perry and Barry Kuiack

• Thanks to Tomlinson’s mechanics for providing exceptional service, completing repairs and upgrades on the AMIR in a timely manner which allowed the Hwy 28 trial to be completed on schedule, without any mechanical issues:

• Especially Stewart Allan and Al Conboy• Thanks to Tomlinson’s paving crew and field staff for the extra effort to

ensure a good job was done, • Especially Glen Pye and Bonnie Robertson

• Thanks to Russ Perry for operating the AMIR roller in expert fashion;• Thanks to MTO’s CA staff on the project, McIntosh Perry Ltd., for

coordinating the trial and providing excellent inspection services for MTO and Carleton University, especially Hotze DeWal and Dalton Peel

Without all these special efforts, this trial would not have been such a success.

amir asphalt compactor trial #3 hwy. 28 contract … · ministry of transportation, ontario 1 amir...

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