Asphalt milling, paving & compaction

The stresses placed on modern asphalt and bitumen means that specialist equipment is essential to make sure performance specifications are met. As road traffic increases at a rapid pace and road safety becomes a priority issue, asphalt is put under increasingly higher stresses. For example, road surfaces are subject to compression, flexural tensions and tangential stresses: internal friction, depending on the aggregates, and the cohesion, guaranteed by bitumen's composition, are the two main properties whic

Work on the new Formula 1 racing circuit in Abu Dhabi is progressing at high speed. Over 6,000 construction personnel are working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to complete the new high-speed circuit and its infrastructure. German contractor Bickhardt-Bau is carrying out the paving work, using a fleet of new Vögele pavers and Hamm compaction rollers.

Road improvements on the key Tinkune-Jadibuti road in Nepal are now complete, with an official opening of the route having taken place.

UK firm Hanson hopes to attain key sustainability targets with its new ERA asphalt product. This energy reducing asphalt delivers a 50% reduction in carbon emissions while enhancing durability and improving health and safety for contractors. It can also use up to 50% recycled content, while the asphalt itself is 100% recyclable. The Hanson ERA production process allows a wide range of base, binder and surface course materials to be produced at temperatures of 80 and 95°C, compared with up to 190°C for equiv

New milling machinery at the recent Intermat exhibition will meet demands for customers wanting a range of machines stretching from compact units for road repairs to highway-class equipment for large resurfacing projects

CompLogger, a new hand-held compaction control system is being introduced by Dynapac as a soil compaction analyser. It provides a real-time image of compaction over the entire surface to be compacted. The easy-to-use unit can be used for production planning and throughout compaction and the data can also be saved for future quality control and evaluation.

In Germany a high production paving operation has been achieved using the largest machine available on the market. This project is all the more notable as the operation has been carried out in a continuous process, without joints. The Vögele SUPER 3000-2 paver was able to advance continuously at a rate of almost 4m/min. The machine was preceded by a bustle of activity, for no fewer than 24 feed lorries were needed to ensure an uninterrupted supply of mix to the paver, which placed an even asphalt surfacing

Sany’s new SAP90EC paver comes with large conveyor, augers and hopper to ensure consistent material delivery. A sophisticated hydraulic management system is said to improve working efficiency by 30%, while the machine is driven by an efficient and economical Deutz diesel, featuring advanced noise reduction and heat radiation systems. The latter allows the machine to be operated continuously in ambient temperatures of up to 50°C. The large hopper offers a capacity of 8.5m3 and this 24tonne machine can be use

Two Volvo ABG7820 slope pavers are being used to refurbish a 2,000,000m3 reservoir in Hieflau Styria, Austria. The machines are paving an extra high bitumen content asphalt that is watertight and have been modified to cope with the 34° embankments. The pavers were supplied by the Swiss dealer Robert Aebi and the modifications include tiltadjustable operating platforms to boost operator safety and comfort on the slope. The pavers are being operated by Walo Bertschinger, a Swiss company with a specialist dam

Caterpillar Phoenix-Zeppelin has delivered an AP555E paver to contractor USK Mnichovo Hradišt in the Czech Republic. The machine weighs in at 16tonnes and paves at up to 25m/min and is now working at a construction site near Brandýs nad Labem in the Central Bohemian Region. This versatile machine is able to pave using all standard types of asphalt mixes both in and outside urban areas. The Cat AP555E is also suited for the construction of major trunk roads or highways, while the fitting of a Trimble levelli