Thermal Imaging Detects Asphalt Wear and Tear:

Thermography is used in pavement engineering for quality control of asphalt paving operations.  During the paving process, cooler areas of pavement that may be prone to potholes and raveling become obvious.  After identification, they can be monitored for maintenance and safety.   

Infrared technology can also be used to evaluate existing pavements, their performance and maintenance.  Research with thermal cameras indicates that non-uniform contact stress from tires can shorten the life of the pavement.  It also indicates that highway lanes age at different rates, not just because of varying speeds but because of their exposure to direct sunlight.  Slow lanes receive less direct sunlight because they handle more traffic than fast lanes, dramatically impacting the life of the pavement.  Both of these problems can be brought into focus with a FLIR ThermaCam.      

With thermal imaging, large samples of highway and road can be scanned.  The speed and ease of an IR investigation make it preferable to older, less expensive tests of asphalt durability.  With the safety of the public and millions of taxpayer dollars at stake, new time and money saving technologies cannot be ignored.  

Courtesy of Wynand JvdM Steyn, CSIR Betek, in Inframation 2005 Proceedings

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