UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON/ COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

WISCONSIN STRUCTURES & MATERIALS TESTING LABORATORY (WSMTL)

ASPHALT FACILITIES

The equipment list below identifies current, state-of-the-art compression and tension machines available in the laboratory. The machines have load ranges from a few hundred pounds to one million pounds providing a capability to test a wide variety of materials and structures.

 

Machine Name	Function
Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR)	Measures rheological properties, complex shear modulus (stiffness or resistance) & phase angle of asphalt cements.
Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR)	Tests the deflection of a beam of asphalt from the stiffness modulus & log slope of the creep curve.
Rolling Thin Film Oven (RTFO)	Tests short term aging to simulate construction aging of asphalt binders.
Bitumen Bond Strength (BBS)	Measures asphalt binder adhesion and cohesion properties with and without moisture conditioning.
Pressure Aging Vessel (PAV)	Simulates in-service aging of asphalt binders.
Rotational Viscometer	Outlines determination of high temperature viscosity of asphalt binders (unaged).
Gyratory Compactor	Makes asphalt sample for SuperpaveTUpavement analysis.
Impedance Tube	Measures noise dissipation and reflection in compacted asphalt mixture samples and cores.
Laser Profilometer	Measures the surface macro textures and micro textures of asphalt mixtures.
Chip Seal Sweep Test	Evaluates asphalt emulsion chip retention of chip seal applications.
Glass Transition Dilatometric Device	Measures the glass transition temperature and coefficients of thermal expansion and contraction for asphalt binders and mastics.
Axial Testing System with Environmental Chamber	The device allows for temperature controlled testing of asphalt mixtures in various loading modes such as indirect tension, repeated creep and asphalt beam fatigue test.

© 07/2011 University of Wisconsin-Madison, College of Engineering/WSMTL