Use of infrared thermography for assessing HMA paving and compaction

The assessment of paving and compaction temperatures effect on Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) properties has been the subject of various researches. The present study aims to build upon these researches, by investigating the effectiveness and practicality of infrared thermography (IRT) as an emerging technology to assess HMA paving and compaction. For this purpose a field experiment was performed using a thermographic system to investigate the impact of the temperature in a paving project where two different types of HMA were used. The recorded mat surface temperatures are used effectively for the identification of temperature differentials, as well the detection of pavement defects. In addition, density-growth curves are developed for the specific mixtures and compaction pattern being used. IRT data is further analyzed for the development of simple HMA cooling models, providing a quick and efficient means to estimate the compaction time. More details and discussion are outlined in the paper.