What is Intelligent Compaction?
Intelligent compaction is a relatively new technology in the United States, but has been used for quite some time overseas. IC was observed by government, industry and academia personnel during a European Scan trip to identify improved compaction technologies. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Europeans have over 10 years experience with Intelligent Compaction for soils and asphalt. Once our Scan Team saw it, we knew we wanted it in the US. It was a matter of making our case to DOTs and industry IC technology is most applicable to vibratory rollers, although some manufacturers are studying ways to use the technology on static drum rollers. The principle behind vibratory rollers is that compactive effort is applied using the dynamic force created by the weight of the roller and rotating eccentric masses in the roller drum. Most commonly, IC technology is based on the use of accelerometers to measure the materials response to the vibratory impulses being applied by
