Owed to the rapid developments around the globe which demand infrastructure, leading heavy equipment manufacturers have unleashed an array of asphalt compaction heavy machines equipped with cutting edge technological components that assure optimal compaction. Among the major manufacturers that have taken international expos by surprise due to the innovativeness of these companies include Dynapac, Hamm and BOMAG that are paving the way for others to follow within the spectrum of roller hire machinery and direct purchase markets.
Dynapac’s key development within the compaction sphere is the manufacturer’s Seismic tech component that was initially developed for single drum compactor rollers that was mainly applied to earthmoving applications. The technology revolves around using sensors that are capable of determining resonant frequencies of material being compacted beneath the drum and subsequently adjust the level of compaction according to the frequency to achieve optimal compaction results.
The primary benefit that projects may derive from this seismic system is that operators are able to control compaction meticulously as they are able to control the force applied to surfaces optimally that reduces the potential for over or under compacting. This feature also has a direct bearing on fuel consumption as the number of passes the roller compactor needs to make is reduced quite significantly. A spokesperson for Dynapac stated that the development of this system was a complicated endeavour that took five years of R&D that involved apart from resonant frequency also included temperature configurations which are crucial towards asphalt stiffness.
Another manufacturer that has also introduced a feature that is redefining compaction is Hamm’s vibration – oscillation system. This new development comes in the form of Hamm’s HD+ 120i V-VIO-2 HF. This new roller compactor offers not only the benefits of vibration within the context of compaction, but also oscillation. Most other roller compactors of previous generations from Hamm and other competitors that offered the same combination were restricted to a single drum for vibration and the rear drum for oscillation.
The new machine by Hamm offers both the vibration and oscillation feature on both drums which enable operators to combine compaction types depending on the compaction requirements. Product specialist for Hamm Tim Kowalski indicated the machine is capable of running dual oscillation and also both vibration and oscillation simultaneously by delivering vibration using the front drum and oscillation on the rear drum and then automatically switch when the machine reverses direction. This eliminates the need to switch machines which cause delays and lead to downtime he added.
From Bomag a novel new braking system is expected soon by the market which will be introduced via the ROBOMAG BW 154 asphalt roller. In essence, it is an emergency brake assist system that scans the surroundings in real time and is able to identify any moving and static objects and trigger the brakes in the event that a collision is imminent.
The machine initiates the braking system which slows the machine down gradually to a complete stop. This is in essence is a safety feature that was honoured at the INTERMAT Awards in Paris with the coveted Gold Award under the ‘Roads, Materials and Foundations Industries’ class.
