SBIR Phase I: An In Situ Process Control Device for AsphaltPavements

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This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project will demonstrate an in situ process control device, based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), for the analysis of asphalt pavement used in the highway industry. This proposal is based on the work the Principal Investigator did under contracts from the Strategic Highway Research Program. That work showed how NMR can be used to measure the physical properties of neat asphalt and the concentration of asphalt/aggregate mixes including cores. This research will attempt to extend this technique to the measurement and study of the reaction that occurs between asphalt and aggregate when they are mixed. The study of this reaction plus the development of NMR methods to measure the physical properties of the asphalt in situ in a mix or core will allow the design and the construction of a flat magnet NMR system that will determine the amount and physical condition of asphalt pavements, in-place, on a roadbed. The device developed in this overall project can be used in a number of closely related applications in the highway industry. The determination of the amount of asphalt in mixes and cores is an application that could result in sales of several hundred units in the United States alone. The use of a flat magnet system for in situ analysis of asphalt in pavement could also have a profound impact on pavement maintenance.