Software helps maximise efficiency
01 February 2000
Svedala Dynapac says that simple, easy-to-use computer software from its International High Comp Centre (IHCC) - for making an optimum selection of its rollers and pavers and accurately predicating their performance to meet a wide variety of specifications on different contracts - is arguably one of the compaction and paving industry's most important developments in the past decade.
A spokesman elaborates: ''Key data is simply entered into one of two unique computer programs, one for soils, called CompBase, and one for asphalt, called PaveComp.
''CompBase is a professional predication tool to optimise roller selection and achieve the specified compaction and density for base course and sub-base soils, including silts, sands, clays, gravels and rockfill. It rapidly calculates the chosen machines' compaction capacity in cu m/hr, the area covered in sq m/hr and the time and number of units needed, together with number of passes and layer thickness. This enables customers to input details and check the suitability and performance of their existing Svedala Dynapac machines. The software provides detailed bar charts and graphs showing compaction depth and average degrees of compaction for Proctor or modified Proctor dry density against varying number of passes for each chosen machine on a specified material.
''PaveComp performs a similar task for asphalt, but is more sophisticated and complex, catering for a much greater number of variable and changeable parameters. It provides and recommends contractors with the most economical and optimum choice of pavers, screeds and rollers and their combinations for different asphalt mixes, production rates and ambient and mix temperatures, together with various other different parameters, to achieve a contract's specific requirements.
''To determine the most suitable paver and screed, the relevant parameters are keyed in the Pave part of the program. These include type of mixture and foundation, laying capacity, thickness of the paving and compacted layer, paving width and density. The program assesses the data and automatically provides a list of suitable types and models of paving screeds.
''Selecting the matching compaction equipment is equally simple. Parameters common to both paving and compaction are copied from the Pave program into the Comp section. The common data is supplemented with additional information, including bitumen penetration, binder modification, particle size, wind speed, air and base temperatures and maximum and minimum compaction temperatures. Machine type and model are selected from "an approved" list and the software instantly and automatically displays the required number of rollers, passes, frequency and amplitude settings, laying length, overlaps, rolling speed and cooling time which is also the time allowed for compaction.''
''The software provides Svedala Dynapac users with a significant time and cost savings advantage by considerably simplifying paver and roller selection,'' he adds.
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