Infrared Detection for the Asphalt Industry

Why does asphalt pavement fail prematurely and develop bone-jarring potholes, raveling and cracking? Since the mid-1980s, many highways engineered for service lives of 15 years have been failing much sooner. The culprit has been traced by infrared thermography to be excessive temperature variations in the hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavement surface, or mat, of a road during laydown.

In a unique, ongoing collaborative effort that began a decade ago, the State of Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the University of Washington (UW) researched the cause of premature road...more