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World of Asphalt event report Day 3

March 17, 2021  By Jay Koblun


Product Application Specialist for Caterpillar Paving Todd Mansell giving his presentation titled “Practices for paving roundabouts” at World of Asphalt’s People, Plants, & paving Digital Conference on March 11.

World of Asphalt’s People, Plants, & paving Digital Conference was held from March 9 to 11. Here is a wrap up of some sessions from the third day of the event.

Melissa Hulting, section chief of clean air strategies section at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sharing on energy management during the World of Asphalt People, Plants, & paving Digital Conference on March 11.

Energy management for asphalt plants

The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) recently announced a partnership with ENERGY STAR’s Industrial Sectors program to help asphalt plants manage and improve their energy performance. Melissa Hulting, section chief of clean air strategies section at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, expanded on the various activities and programs available under the ENERGY STAR umbrella during the World of Asphalt People, Plants, & paving Digital Conference held from March 9 to 11.

Her presentation focused on; developing and implementing an energy management program for your company; selecting the ENERGY STAR programs that best match your company’s energy management objectives; and finally, how to leverage the ENERGY STAR brand to supplement marketing, community relations, and other external communications.

Hulting gave some easy tips on how to make energy management a priority in the workplace and why it is important to care.

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“Change how you view energy costs,” she said. “They are controllable and part of how you manage your business. Another thing you can do is assign someone to track your energy use and costs. Even a simple excel spreadsheet gives you a baseline to work from.”

She also suggested companies set a goal, and engage employees. “Talk to your utility about available incentives and programs.”

Next, Eugene Weldon, Director of Environmental at Eurovia USA, shared form an asphalt producer’s perspective on how his company has already benefitted from some of Hulting’s tips and suggestions.

Tim Kowalski, applications support manager at Wirtgen America, presenting on compaction during World of Asphalt’s People, Plants, & paving Digital Conference on March 11.

Compaction 101: Doing the right things, the right way

Tim Kowalski, applications support manager at Wirtgen America gave a presentation covering the basics of compaction during the World of Asphalt People, Plants, & paving Digital Conference held from March 9 to 11.

“Roller compaction is the last opportunity during the paving process to produce a long-lasting and high-quality pavement,” he said. “Why is compaction important? We don’t want things to fall apart and that starts from the bottom up.”

Kowalski covered compaction basics to help prepare attendees for challenges faced during construction operations. He focused on understanding the four elements of compaction, which are; static weight; impacts; dynamics—vibration and oscillation; and finally kneading. He also focused on how to balance production, laydown, and compaction operations to match paving speed with rolling speed. And how to understand the factors that can affect compaction and how to mitigate negative impacts.

Product Application Specialist for Caterpillar Paving Todd Mansell giving his presentation titled “Understanding Density Rolling Patterns” at World of Asphalt’s People, Plants, & paving Digital Conference on March 11.

Practices for paving roundabouts and understanding density rolling patterns

Roundabouts.jpg: Product Application Specialist for Caterpillar Paving Todd Mansell giving his presentation titled “Practices for paving roundabouts” at World of Asphalt’s People, Plants, & paving Digital Conference on March 11.

Rolling Patterns.jpg: Product Application Specialist for Caterpillar Paving Todd Mansell giving his presentation titled “Understanding Density Rolling Patterns” at World of Asphalt’s People, Plants, & paving Digital Conference on March 11.

Product Application Specialist for Caterpillar Paving Todd Mansell gave two presentations during World of Asphalt’s People, Plants, & paving Digital Conference on March 11. One presentation covered Practices for paving roundabouts and the second focused on understanding density rolling patterns.

Mansell has worked in the asphalt paving industry for more than 25 years as a laboratory and field technician, lab manager, field inspector, materials engineer and quality control manager for employers in both Canada and the U.S. He started by explaining the function of a roundabout and how drivers should be entering and exiting them. And then focused on; planning the paving operation and traffic control, setting up your paver and shared tips for paving roundabouts; and finished with several tips for compacting roundabouts.

“One successful approach to paving roundabouts is to mill the whole existing surface first,” he said. “Repair specific areas if needed, then proceed with paving and milling, finishing by sealing all the joints,” Mansell said, adding that his approach works because it ends up being carefully planned and the details are controlled in the field.

Mansell later gave his second presentation of the day on how you can better understand density rolling patterns.

He said meeting and exceeding density specifications when paving is critical to a long-lasting pavement, yet managing the rolling and compaction operation continues to be one of the most misunderstood aspects of the entire operation. Mansell discusses; factors affecting density in the field; how to establish an effective rolling pattern; and what to do when you are not achieving density.

“For excellent compaction, set the paver speed correctly, set your target density, set the speed of your roller, work as a team and remember to keep an eye on your progress,” he said, adding that it’s important to do a test strip first to make sure your settings are accurate and machines are calibrated accordingly.


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