Thermal Imaging for Asphalt Placement Quality Control

Metro Testing Laboratories is offering thermal imaging for asphalt placement quality control. Placing asphalt mixes at the right temperature is critical for long term operation of each road. Placing asphalt mixes outside their processing parameters will result in higher maintenance cost for the owner and possibly warranty claims to the contractor. With thermal imaging the site crews can be more focused on the effect of lay down operations and pavers adjustment problems during applications and not after the fact. Our camera will cover a significant area of mat during application and our trained staff will inform the site crew about critical conditions. This will allow the contractor to fix problems right away while being on site to do a better job.

Current Challenges

Incorrect asphalt temperatures can create significant problems for pavers—not to mention the organizations that have to pay the bill for ongoing maintenance and repair. If an asphalt mix or portions within it are too cold during application, the viscosity is increased to the point where the asphalt layer can not be compacted as much as it should. This leads to porous and weak zones and allows water infiltration which contributes to pavement deterioration (freeze and thaw cycle and pressure). If the asphalt mix is too hot, oxidation affecting asphalt properties occurs faster. In both cases, roads will deteriorate much faster than they should.

Metro's Solution

With Metro Testing’s infrared imaging equipment, temperatures of the mat can be quickly assessed to determine if the last strip laid down has still enough of a binding temperature to the new strip placed.

Cold spots can be located quickly and material non suitable for sufficient compacting can be removed immediately to avoid future issues.

In addition to the thermal imaging capabilities, Metro Testing is also performing asphalt testing services in their lab in Burnaby and on site which include:

• Marshall and Superpave mix designs
• Open grade asphalt and stone mastic asphalt mix designs
• Asphalt coring and investigation
• Testing of Asphalt hot mix
• Pavement evaluation, assessment and management
• Pavement evaluation using Benkelman beam and spectral pavement analyzer

Metro Testing Laboratories is your one-stop supplier of quality assurance and testing services. Call us today for an evaluation for your next pavement project.