{"id":5242,"date":"2023-06-27T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.despatch.com\/blog\/?p=5242"},"modified":"2023-08-21T20:22:38","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T20:22:38","slug":"maximizing-asphalt-testing-with-lab-ovens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.despatch.com\/blog\/maximizing-asphalt-testing-with-lab-ovens\/","title":{"rendered":"Maximizing Asphalt Testing with Lab Ovens"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

How are the roads and highways where you live? If they\u2019re anything like the typical roads and highways found worldwide, they have potholes, ruts, and cracks. With over 1.3 billion cars<\/a>, trucks, and buses worldwide and a combined automobile manufacturing industry valued at over $6 trillion ($9 trillion by 2030), a lot rides on the quality and safety of our roads and highways. Asphalt testing using industrial lab ovens is a critical step in constructing roads and highways that maximize performance even under adverse conditions.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But building today\u2019s roads and highways that maximize performance is easier said than done. In addition to meeting a broad range of load expectations, today\u2019s roads and highways must endure a wide variety of local weather conditions. Rain, ice, and snow can wear down the top layer of a thoroughfare over time, exposing its concrete bases and creating ruts and cracks. That, in turn, can also create potholes\u2014among the leading causes of car, truck, and motorcycle accidents and vehicle damage in cities worldwide, such as New York, Boston, and San Francisco. \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

Asphalt Testing Helps Boost Safety and Performance<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

Most roads and highways are built in layers. A typical road or highway features road bases or courses, which serve as bottom layers, and second or binder course layers, which act as middle and top layers. Highway engineers use this approach to accommodate the different loading expectations and local weather. Other properties to be considered are coarseness, fineness, angularity, flatness, elongation, and clay content. Highway engineers, however, often cover their roadways with asphalt to boost safety and quality. Asphalt repels water, ice, and snow and redirects it into drains and culverts, boosting performance.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Asphalt works well as a binder when laying down load-supporting surfaces. Binder properties determine how well asphalt will act as a constituent in asphalt concrete. Asphalt is a naturally occurring substance and a manufactured material made using crude oil. This black, sticky liquid or petroleum byproduct must be heated to very high temperatures to be used as a binding medium when laying down load-supporting surfaces. Driveways, parking lots, airport tarmacs, embankment dams, and rooftops also use this durable, waterproof binding substance to prevent surfaces from deteriorating.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Asphalt testing is a critical part of asphalt production. Asphalt manufacturers heat and dry asphalt mixture samples to determine moisture content in the mix as part of the quality control process during road construction and repair. Asphalt samples are heated to a temperature of 163\u00b0C \u00b114\u00b0C (325\u00b0F \u00b125\u00b0F), dried and tested.\u00a0High moisture content in the aggregate before mixing can lead to poor roadbed strength and increased potential for creating potholes\u2014the bane of the auto industry. The air and pavement temperatures can also affect the compacting of the materials and their long-term durability when laying down new highways or roads.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

Industrial Lab Ovens are Essential<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

Manufacturers of asphalt and the Department of Transportation (DOTs) for many states use laboratory ovens for testing asphalt moisture samples. Lab ovens are, in fact, essential equipment in asphalt testing. Used to simulate the conditions that asphalt mixtures are exposed to during construction and service life to evaluate their performance characteristics.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Here are some ways that industrial or lab ovens are used in asphalt mixture testing:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n