2019 NCAT Performance Report for Skidabrader

In December of 2019 Skidabrader had the opportunity to texture 8 sections of the National Center for Asphalt Technology Test Track (NCAT). The NCAT Test Track is a full-scale accelerated performance testing facility located in Auburn, Alabama. Forty-six asphalt test sections with a typical length of 61-meters are built around the 2.7-kilometer oval. Five trucks each pulling three heavily loaded trailers run approximately 400 laps around the track each day per day. These trucks accelerated wear and pavement distress. The NCAT team periodically tests the pavement performance and records data points to help better the performance of the surface in the real world.

A common issue agencies are faced with within their roadway network is maintaining adequate surface friction characteristics of pavement. The main attributor to frictional properties of a pavement surface is the quality of aggregate used in the pavement. In areas where less than desirable aggregates are available it can be costly to the agency to use higher quality aggregates. So these agencies are faced with a bit of a balancing act with pavement mix designs specifying the right percentage of lower and higher quality aggregates to yield the best results from a

frictional and cost stand point. This study focuses on pavement surfaces which have a higher percentage of lower quality aggregates and the utilization of The Skidabrader Texturing process to restore the frictional properties of these pavements.