5 WAYS TO IMPROVE ASPHALT PLANT CONTROL BY JEFF MITCHELL
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Hot-mix asphalt (HMA) producers can improve the control of mix quality by implementing a handful of best practices. A robust blending and plant process control system could assist by automating these steps. Such steps should be integrated on a schedule that alerts you when it’s time to give them attention. Most producers also need the ability to add to and modify the system as the operation and market grows, and as specifications change. Here are five ideas to optimize your plant controls.
36 // September 2021
1. Look at the changing technology. As developments to procedures and material designs advance, there will be more demand for additional ingredients, whether it be hydrated lime, liquid anti-strip, foaming chemistries, rejuvenators, modifiers, recycled asphalt product (RAP), and others. If your existing control system is a relic of the past or lacks support, it might prevent you from incorporating elements and integrating equipment correctly. It may also require a large upfront cost from the manufacturer—you—to make the modification.
You certainly don’t want to cut corners to install components in a cobbled-up manner that introduces maintenance problems, or quality and efficiency complications. 2. Also consider your blending technology. Have you ever had to wait for the extraction and gradation tests to “tweak” your liquid asphalt cement (AC) percentage? If your operations are like many plants, production cannot begin with confidence—particularly on federally funded jobs—until the first run of mix is checked for AC content and gradation. In some cases, people are adjusting the mix every day or certainly every week. If you can avoid this with reliable, real-time data from your blending controls, you can begin each production day with assurance. A comprehensive blending computer control can help your facility produce mix designs that are on target.
