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

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将展示一种基于核磁共振（NMR）的现场过程控制装置，用于分析高速公路行业中使用的沥青路面。该提案是基于首席调查员根据战略公路研究计划的合同所做的工作。这项工作表明，核磁共振可以用来测量纯沥青的物理性质和沥青/骨料混合物（包括核心）的浓度。这项研究将尝试将这项技术扩展到沥青和骨料混合时发生的反应的测量和研究。对这种反应的研究加上核磁共振方法的发展，以测量混合或核心中沥青的物理性质，将允许设计和建造一个平面磁铁核磁共振系统，该系统将确定沥青路面的数量和物理状况，就地，在路基上。在这个整体项目中开发的设备可用于公路行业中许多密切相关的应用。测定混合料和堆芯中沥青的含量是一项应用，仅在美国就能销售数百台。使用平面磁铁系统对路面沥青进行原位分析也可能对路面维护产生深远的影响。

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.