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from the where's-my-solar-plastic-roadways? dept.
Imagine a drive to grandma's house or to work with fewer "left lane closed ahead" signs, fewer detour signs, fewer orange barrels and also safer travel near road crews. That may soon be possible with new technology from Purdue University researchers.
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This technology uses electrical resistance measurements to determine when the emulsified asphalt in a chip seal has sufficiently cured and can therefore withstand traffic without sustaining damage. Such real-time measurements help ensure that the road repairs are done correctly and more quickly than using current methods."Typical approaches to quantify emulsified asphalt-based chip seal curing times are varied and qualitative," said John Haddock, a professor of civil engineering and the director of the Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program, who leads the research team. "Having a quantitative, real-time measurement method can help construction crews make good decisions that result in a quality chip seal project with minimal traffic disruption."
The engineers will know exactly when the asphalt can be driven on.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @12:05AM (2 children)
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Wednesday November 21 2018, @04:41AM
I think it is also worth mentioning that new technology does absolutely nothing for construction delays that result from negligence, incompetence, and graft rather than diligence. And that definitely happens all the friggin' time, according to people I've talked to who worked for roads departments. Among other things, the people doing the actual work are getting paid hourly, and finishing the job too quickly would hurt their bottom line.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @05:51AM
I'm not a civil engineer, but I asked a friend of mine who is. He said that the difference here is, in most cases, a day but may be up to four. The reason is that the engineers don't actually have access to the entire roadway, weather, or seal conditions when they run their numbers. Therefore, they always go conservative in the numbers to give a safety buffer. The problem isn't so much the traffic getting on too early, unless it is somewhere with stop-and-go traffic because the yaw movement of tires will screw up the surface, but if the fog seal goes on before the chip seal is ready. If that happened and the timing is bad enough, then the roadway runs the risk of not meeting its wear specification.