Master the lifecycle of asphalt pavements: from production and precise placement to strategic preservation; unlock durability and cost-efficiency for lasting infrastructure.
Explore the critical aspects of Asphalt Pavement: Production, Placement, and Preservation in this comprehensive course. Delve into the fundamental principles and advanced techniques essential for building and maintaining durable asphalt infrastructure.
This course kicks off with a fascinating historical overview of pavement design and construction, tracing its evolution from ancient roads to modern-day asphalt structures. Understanding this lineage provides crucial context for current practices and future innovations. We then transition into the core components, starting with Asphalt Binder Selection and Properties. You'll gain a deep understanding of asphalt's viscoelastic nature, the significance of the Performance Graded (PG) system, and the various factors influencing binder performance, including temperature and aging. This segment also covers the evolution from empirical tests like penetration and viscosity grading to the more performance-based SHARP program criteria.
Next, we move to Aggregate Selection Criteria and Properties, exploring how aggregate quality, shape, texture, and gradation profoundly impact pavement strength and durability. Learn about the importance of crushed aggregates, the role of different crushing processes, and laboratory tests for properties like soundness and abrasion. Discover how various gradations—dense, open, and gap-graded—are designed for specific performance objectives, such as noise reduction or permeability.
The course then dives into Asphalt Concrete Mix Design, detailing how binders and aggregates are combined to achieve desired stability, flexibility, fatigue strength, and durability. Emphasis is placed on Superpave mix design principles, target binder content determination, and evaluation of moisture sensitivity, including advanced torture tests like the Hamburg Wheeltrack and APA.
The journey continues with an in-depth look at Asphalt Production and Placement. Understand the distinctions between batch and drum mix plants, the critical role of material handling to prevent segregation, and the increasing adoption of warm mix asphalt technologies for environmental and economic benefits. Learn best practices for truck loading, transportation, and paver operation, including the use of material transfer vehicles (MTVs) to enhance mix uniformity and smoothness. A critical segment covers thermal and physical segregation, illustrating their detrimental effects on pavement performance and methods to mitigate them.
Finally, the course addresses Asphalt Compaction and Joint Construction, focusing on achieving optimal density through various rolling techniques and equipment, from static steel drum rollers to vibratory and pneumatic tire rollers. Explore the nuances of compaction timing, temperature, and patterns, as well as common pitfalls like tender mixes and check cracking. The importance of proper longitudinal and transverse joint construction is thoroughly examined, highlighting best practices for creating seamless and durable pavement seams. We conclude with a detailed discussion on Links Between Design, Construction Defects, Pavement Performance, and Innovations, showcasing real-world examples of pavement failures caused by material issues, poor construction, and drainage neglect. This section emphasizes the critical role of innovative practices, quality control, and robust specifications in building long-lasting, high-performing asphalt pavements, exploring technologies like Cupolux and compact asphalt paving.
This 4‐hour course for design professionals will discuss asphalt history, components, mix, transportation, placement, preservation, maintenance, recycling, reuse, materials, technologies, and innovations.
Online Courses for Engineers
HalfMoon Education is a nonprofit continuing education provider offering live webinars and on-demand courses for engineers, architects, landscape architects, land surveyors, attorneys, paralegals, accountants and others. Since 1996, we’ve helped thousands of professionals nationwide stay current with industry standards and codes, earn CE hours, and advance their expertise through practical, expert-led learning experiences. Learn more about us at: www.halfmoonseminars.org
Civil Engineer
Mr. Hein is a consulting Civil Engineer with over 38 years of experience in the design, evaluation, and management of transportation infrastructure. He recently retired from Applied Research Associates, Inc. of Toronto, Canada, where he managed the 90‐person Transportation Infrastructure Division in the U.S. and Canada. He is the past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers Transportation and Development Institute (ASCE T&DI) and chair of several engineering standards committees. He is a member of the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC), Past Chair of the Pavements Committee, and past member of the Transportation Research Board Pavement Management, Pavement Maintenance, and Pavement Preservation Committees. He has been a member of the World Road Association (WRA) Pavements and Asset Management Committees since 2002. He has been involved in numerous national and international research, evaluation, and asset management projects for Federal, State, Provincial, and Municipal agencies and many of the public/private/partnership highway construction projects across Canada and the United States.
