Highway Rehabilitation in the Hocheifel Region
Impressive teamwork with a Vögele SUPER 2100-5 X paver and a Hamm HX 90i VS-OS tandem roller with Smart Compact Pro: On the A60, north of Bitburg, the surface layer and binder course of a section of the highway with a length of 3.5 km and a width of 12 m were badly in need of rehabilitation. With the Wirtgen Group machines, the contractor was able to deliver the required paving precision and meet the tight deadline set by the highway authorities without any additional effort, thanks to smart technology such as the new assistance system Smart Compact Pro.
Pavement Patching Didn’t Solve the Problems
In the heart of the Hocheifel region, not far from the Belgian border, the A60 winds through the countryside like a black ribbon. Well over half of the 20,000 vehicles using the highway every day are heavy trucks, which seriously impact the asphalt surface. In the past, only piecemeal repairs had been carried out on the section between the Heisdorf viaduct and the Waxweiler interchange; however, in the meantime, the road surface on this section is so badly damaged that a complete renewal of the surface layer and the binder course over a distance of around 3.5 km was the only viable option.
After the removal of the damaged asphalt pavement, the next task was the paving of the binder course. Within four days, the crew here had paved 11,000 tons of fresh asphalt mix. For asphalt-construction manager Michael Hansen from Kohl Bau, quality is the top priority. “We always make every effort to deliver 105% perfection. The road will get bad enough afterwards on its own”, he says with a grin.
The Dash 5 Generation – More Operator-Friendliness and Comfort
The latest-generation of Vögele pavers helps the paving crew to fulfill the demanding project requirements. The numerous assistance systems and automated functions of the SUPER 2100-5 X reduce the workload of the paver and screed operators. With a laydown rate of up to 1,100 tons of asphalt per hour, it offers sufficient output for challenging large-scale projects like this. Alex Bolinger has been working in asphalt construction for the past 20 years. He spent the first five years on the screed and took his seat on the operator’s platform in 2010. From up here, he has the best possible overview of the construction site. It’s the first time he’s had the chance to work with the new paver generation. “On the face of it, the procedure is exactly the same: we have to get the mix onto the machine and then pave and compact it. But the comfort and ergonomics on the new machine are now even better.’
Paving without Joints with the SB 300 TV Fixed-Width Screed
To maintain the required evenness across the entire width of 12 meters and ensure a durable pavement structure without joints, the contractor decided to use a SB 300 TV fixed-width screed for paving. This enabled paving without joints across the full width of the roadway and the breakdown lane in a single pass. Both screed extensions are hydraulically adjustable up to a total of 2.5 m and gave the paving crew sufficient flexibility. Only in the area of the acceleration and deceleration lanes leading to the Prümer Land rest stop on the section is the roadway wider than the working width of the installed screed. A second, smaller, SUPER 1300-3i paver was used here.
A Continuous Supply of Asphalt was Vital
Paving such an enormous width is particularly challenging for the site logistics process. The asphalt is supplied by the contractor’s two asphalt mixing plants. Only a few years ago, the company upgraded one of them to the latest standards with components from Benninghoven. The members of the paving crew all agree: ”If we hadn’t have had our own mixing plants, we wouldn’t have been able to get the job done so smoothly.’ Twenty trucks continuously transported the asphalt mix to the construction site. But the bottleneck was the site itself: “When the traffic comes to a standstill in the narrow bit, we have to stop what we’re doing, too. There’s no other way to get onto the construction site, even though the mixing plants are located in different directions.”
Load after load was emptied into the Vögele MT 3000 mobile feeder, which ensured a continuous flow of material to the paver. This machine combination and an extra material hopper ensured an uninterrupted supply of asphalt mix for paving. Meter by meter, the machine train moved forward, closely followed by several rollers that ensured optimal compaction of the new asphalt pavement.
Smart Compact Pro – Real-Time Density Measurement, Thanks to Realtime Density Scan
When it comes to rollers, the spotlight was on the new HX 90i VS-OS tandem roller with Smart Compact Pro. The system uses a new sensor –the Realtime Density Scan – to determine the density of the compacted asphalt in real-time and uses this value for automated control of the compaction force and modes in both drums. This development is a significant step forward in asphalt compaction, because: as all industry experts agree, the real-time density is the decisive parameter for the assessment of quality during compaction. Until the development of Smart Compact Pro, this value was always the missing piece of the puzzle in asphalt compaction. Vitalij Koch in the driver’s seat of the HX 90i. It’s the first time he’s used the new assistance system, too. “Driving a roller always looks so easy. Nevertheless, you do have to pay attention to how you drive and how many passes you’ve done. You have to have a feeling for the roller and the asphalt. The new system makes everything much easier for newcomers to the job. The vibration or oscillation is automatically activated with the required compaction force and deactivated again once the required density has been achieved. In my opinion, the system’s really good.”
Better Control and Efficiency on the Construction Site
One advantage of using Smart Compact Pro in particular is interesting for construction managers and paving contractors, as the continuous registration of the real-time density eliminates the significant costs and the time and effort associated with core sampling. Regulatory requirements were also strictly implemented, which significantly minimized the risk of financial penalties. The resulting density maps can also be documented and submitted to the client as proof of performance. And: even inexperienced operators can achieve optimum compaction results with Smart Compact Pro without extensive prior knowledge. This is a particularly valuable aid to construction contractors in view of the increasing shortage of qualified personnel. www.wirtgen-group.com
Partener Principal
MATEK Build Smart