With an ambitious goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, you may be wondering what you can do now. There are many opportunities to optimize asphalt pavement materials, mix production practices, paving operations, and pavement design. Explore these resources to begin implementing environmentally friendly practices, optimizing your operations, and addressing your bottom line – today.
11 Fuel Saving Tips for Heavy Equipment
Caterpillar has discovered areas where the most fuel is wasted when operating any brand of heavy equipment. Addressing these areas can help you reduce your owning and operating costs.
Aggregate Moisture Measurement
Aggregate stockpile moisture content can significantly influence drying energy cost, plant production rates, and mix volumetric properties and performance. Moisture is perhaps the most influential production variable – it’s importance and impact should not be discounted.
Analysis and Design Optimization of Flexible Pavement
A project-level optimization approach developed to minimize total pavement cost within an analysis period.
Astec Case Studies
Peruse case studies on heating systems.
Balanced Mix Design Resource Guide
Visit NAPA’s online BMD Resource Guide for the latest information, tools, and resources.
Best Practices for RAP and RAS Management
Best practices for the management of reclaimed asphalt pavement and recycled asphalt shingles.
Clean Diesel
Learn about clean diesel construction from the Diesel Technology Forum and download the report, “Clean Diesel Technology for Off-Road Engines and Equipment.”
Clean Technology Adoption in Off-Road Sector
Presentation slides on the adoption of clean technology adoption for off-road equipment.
Considerations and Case Studies in Rapid Highway Construction
Several rapid construction case studies and DOT construction productivity tables show asphalt pavements’ numerous advantages in reducing highway construction times.
Designing HMA with High RAP Content
Practical guidelines for HMA mixtures with at least 25% RAP, including materials evaluation, mix design, plant verification, and quality control.
Drainage
Learn how to eliminate wet stockpiles by addressing drainage issues in this Agg-Net feature.
Electrify Asphalt Plant Heat Efficiency
This Asphalt Pro article examines the cost comparison of electric energy.
Energy Assessments
ForConstructionPros.com explains ENERGY STAR Treasure Hunts and easy ways to increase energy efficiency as asphalt plants.
Energy Conservation in Hot-Mix Asphalt Production
Energy costs constitute a significant percentage of the total cost of asphalt pavement mixture production, so conserving energy can improve the bottom line for producers. This publication presents opportunities for energy conservation during production and provides a method to calculate return on equipment investments that might reduce energy-related costs.
Energy Consumption Analysis and Prediction of Hot Mix Asphalt
An IOP Conf. Ser. report analyzing an energy consumption prediction model for asphalt production.
Energy Efficiency Best Practices
ForConstructionPros.com shares a dozen ways to improve energy efficiency at asphalt plants.
ENERGY STAR – Asphalt Pavement Production
Get details on participating in the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program for asphalt plants.
ENERGY STAR – Energy Management 101
In this recorded webinar, ENERGY STAR staff discuss how to use their industrial program resources to start or enhance an energy management program that focuses on continual energy savings.
Equipment Fuel Efficiency
Case Constructions presents 12 core principles that affect fuel efficiency throughout the life of a machine.
Evaluating Emissions, Energy Consumption, and Production Costs of WMA
As published in the journal Sustainability, the results of this study indicated that evaluated mixtures reduced CO and CO2 emissions by 2–6% and 17–37%, respectively, while energy consumption decreased 13%.
FHWA – Towards Sustainable Pavement Systems
This report includes a chapter on materials considerations to improve pavement sustainability.
Fueling Your Job Site
ConstructionEquipmentGuide.com shares tips to save money when fueling job sites.
How to Maximize Your Equipment’s Fuel Efficiency
AEM provides tips to reduce fuel use in Municipal Sewer & Water magazine.
Impact of Asphalt Thickness on Pavement Quality
Synthesis 537: Impact of Asphalt Thickness on Pavement Quality documents transportation agency policy for lift thickness and minimum compaction requirements on resultant asphalt pavement quality.
Laboratory and Field Characterization of Warm Asphalt Mixtures with High Reclaimed Asphalt
An NCAT study evaluating plant-produced RAP-WMA mixes.
Management of Aggregate Stockpiles
This Member to Member article details how reducing moisture content will reduce cost, increase plant capacity, reduce fuel use, and reduce emissions.
Moisture Reduction Systems
Peruse case studies on moisture reduction approaches.
NCAT Report 21-03: Phase VII (2018-2021) Track Findings
Chapter 15 provides findings of a thick lift study for South Carolina.
Off-Highway Transportation Related Fuel Use
A 2004 Department of Energy report on off-highway fuel use.
Pavement Design Optimization Considering Costs and Preventive Interventions
This ASCE Technical Paper shares a model to help pavement designers choose the best pavement structure for a road or highway.
PAVEXpress
A free, web-based pavement design tool for flexible pavements.
Perpetual Pavements: A Manual of Practice
This is the most comprehensive document to date on how to design, select materials for, and construct Perpetual Pavements. Learn how to do perpetual design in mechanistic-empirical pavement design tools such as PerRoad and AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design.
Practical Guide for Using Recycling Agents in Asphalt Mix
This guide provides a tiered set of step-by-step approaches to facilitate the use of recycling agents in asphalt mixtures to produce pavements that perform and promote sustainability.
RAP Part 1: The What, Why, and How of RAP
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This webinar recording covers historical RAP use, the need for and advantages of RAP use, types of RAP products and how they differ, the leading practices for processing and stockpile management, and RAP product variability compared to virgin aggregate and overall mix variability.
RAP Part 2: Mix Design and Laboratory Performance Testing
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This webinar recording covers design considerations, mix design methodology for RAP mixtures, performance testing of asphalt mixtures with RAP, and plant considerations for production at various levels of RAP utilization.
RAP Part 3: Field Performance and the User Experience
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This webinar recording covers field performance of asphalt mixtures containing RAP, applications best suited for higher RAP content, impacts of specification requirements on usage and performance of RAP, and agency perspectives on the benefits and concerns when using RAP.
Stockpiles
ASTEC Technical Paper T-129 describes grading and paving under stockpiles.
Through Thick and Thin
While there are many factors affecting the ability to compact an asphalt mix, the need for a minimum lift thickness relative to the mixture size is a critical one.
TxDOT’s Accelerated Construction Guidelines
Includes design features that should be considered in every accelerated construction project.
Use of RAP & RAS in High Binder Replacement Mixes
Historical overview of the use of RAP and RAS, environmental and economic benefits, design and production considerations, and field performance information.
Using LNG and CNG Fuel
A Plant Engineering article on using LNG and CNG when there’s no readily available pipeline.
Veta Intelligent Construction Data Management Software
Veta is a map-based tool for viewing and analyzing geospatial data to optimize pavement operations.
Warm-Mix Asphalt: Best Practices, Third Edition
This publication covers best practices for WMA production and provides short- and long-term recommendations to address potential production issues. Data support improvements in emissions, working conditions, and performance.
Warm-Mix Asphalt: Contractors’ Experiences
Warm-mix asphalt technologies are some of the most important breakthroughs for the asphalt industry since 2000. Contractors across the country are using these new technologies and observing lowered emissions and fuel savings.
Wet Sand/Stockpiles
This Quarry Management/Agg-Net article describes how a glass manufacturer solved its wet sand problem.
WMA Provides a Fast Fix
ForConstructionPros.com shares how a unique warm mix design enables early start and enhanced compaction for urgent rebuild of South Carolina's I-85.