Asphalt Testing, Engineering & Observation
S&ME is qualified to perform laboratory and field testing of asphalt pavements before, during, and after construction. In other words, we can assist the project team from preliminary design through the different phases of construction.
Engineering Consultation
We can recommend appropriate asphalt mixes for various design applications such as:
- Commercial (retail facilities large and small);
- Industrial (utilities, manufacturing);
- Institutional (schools, public facilities);
- Transportation systems (highways, airports)
We can evaluate pavement distresses and recommend methods for repair or replacement.
Asphalt Mix Proportion and Thickness Design
- We can design asphalt mixes by either the Marshall or Superpave methods;
- Our mix designs could consider recycled, reclaimed, or virgin materials in any desirable combination;
- Our staff is familiar with providing mix designs that meet Federal Highway Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, and state and local Departments of Transportation specifications;
- We can also provide remedial mix designs for pavements that are under-designed for current or future traffic loads or aged to the point of needing overlay.
Construction Observation and Testing
- Observing asphalt plant control and perform Quality Assurance or Quality Control testing during production relative to project specifications; and
- Observation of pavement lay-down and performing tests during asphalt placement and compaction procedures in the field.
Laboratory Testing
We can assess the properties of asphalt samples obtained during production or after completion of paving to include:
- Mix design verification;
- Compaction and thickness of cored samples;
Testing to evaluate if specified material properties are being met such as:
- Mix extractions for aggregate gradation and asphaltic cement content;
- Mix maximum theoretical specific gravity testing;
- Tensile Strength Ratio (TSR) testing;
- Marshall and Superpave mix volumetrics testing.
