Wasantha chithrananda

Consultant Asphalt & aggregate production.

18.12.2010
Paving machine basically
consists of two parts.
1. Tractor &
2. Screed

Tractor Screed
 Engine and power
pack Control station

Operator station

Foldable hopper Screed

Operator
station

Drive guide
holder

Crawler
Crawler Direct Screed
Push rollers drive
Augers
Tow point
Tow arm
 Tractor unit consist of
1. Power unit for travelling and driving the material feeding
system & laying system.
2. Hopper for material stock
3. Feeding system.
Salt conveyor.
Flow gates

The Hopper is to receive the material. Salt conveyors are carry the
material through the paver tunnel. Flow gates to regulate the material
flow. Augers to distribute the mix in front of the screed.
Sensors/Controllers to control the material level at the outboard edge
of the screed.
 The screed is mounted to move
independently of the paver. If
the screed is disconnected
from the machine it would spin
from the center of the
machine

The screed is towed by the tractor and

is free to float up or down until the
bottom of the screed is parallel with
the grade over which it is traveling.
The screed tow point is in the middle of the wheel base of the tractor
unit. This is to avoid any of the minor bumps and dips in the existing
grade. This is called Free floating attachment.
 Advantages
1. Excellent flotation
2. Lower Ground Bearing
Pressure
3. Excellent Traction
4. Lays material to
Maximum Widths and
Depths
5. Flexible Track Allows
Crawler track mounted machine.
Acceptable On-Site
Speeds & Ride Comfort

Disadvantages
1. Less Mobile, Needs Transporting
2. Higher Initial Purchase Costs
3. Higher Maintenance Costs
 Advantages
1. Easy Mobility
2. Higher On-Site Speed past
paving
3. Maintenance Costs are Less
4. Familiar Controls

Tyre mounted machine.

Disadvantages
1. Center Point Wheel Load
2. May Spin on Loose Surfaces or Heavy Tack Coated
Surfaces
3. Risk of Punctures, Loss of Air, Ballast during working
in hot environment.
The above five factors affect the screed performance during paving. It is
important to have very good knowledge about those factors to have
better control in order to have high quality paving operation. Proper
balancing of these forces will results a high quality paving at the end.
Mainly the above three forces must need to balance to have high
quality paving operation. Any variation in these three factors will
affect the balance and may cause undesired screed reactions .
 Angle of attack is the angle made by the screed plate
to the mat with which it is passing.

The following factors mainly determine the angle of attack.

1. Mat Depth
2. Screed Weight
3. Material Stability
4. Screed Plate Depth (front to back)
Mat and Screed Temperature, Material Type, Nominal Aggregate Size,
Varying Paving Speed, Varying Head of Material, also affect the angle
of attack.
 Strike off plate.

The screed may be equipped with a device on its front edge that is
called a strike-off plate. The purpose of this device is to control the
feed of the material under the paver screed, thereby regulating the
amount of mix that reaches the nose of the screed plate. Further, the
strike-off plate is used to reduce the wear on the leading edge of the
screed.
The position of the strike off plate is very important.
If the strike-off plate is set too high, extra material will be fed under
the screed. This action will cause the screed to rise increasing the mat
thickness. The resulting increase in the mat thickness will be overcome
by manually reducing the angle of attack of the screed. This, in turn,
will cause the screed to pivot around its hinge point and ride on its nose.
Rapid wear of the nose plate will result. In addition, the screed will
settle when the paver is stopped between truckloads of mix because the
weight of the screed is carried only on the front part of the screed.
 Strike off plate.

When the strike-off is set too low the thickness of the lift will be
reduced because of the lack of mix being fed under the screed. In order
to maintain the proper thickness, the angle of attack of the screed must
be altered, causing the screed to ride on its tail. This increases the wear
on the back of the screed and also causes the screed to settle whenever
the paver is stopped because of the concentration of weight of the
screed on a smaller surface area.
Set extension strike off
3/8(10mm) above
extension screed plate

Set pre -strike off to 1/8

(3mm) above extension
screed plate
 Check the screed profile for
straightness using string line.

Check extension is flat with

main screed. There should be
no angle of attack difference
A normal angle of attack is set between extension and main
on the rear extension to 3/16.
[4.5mm.]
To position the screed lower down the screed until the screed rests
on the wooden blocks. The wooden blocks used to support the
Screed throughout its width. Center tow point cylinders
 All screeds if not set up
correctly may leave shadows in
the mat

A normal angle of attack is set

on the rear extension to 3/16.
[4.5mm.]
In order to obtained smooth paved surface it is important to know the
screed reaction time after the adjustment.
The relationship between the vertical movement of the screed tow point
and the elevation of the screed is the key to the paver's ability to lay
smooth pavements. There is an 8-to-1 ratio so that a 1 in. (25 mm)
vertical movement of the tow point will result in only a 1/8 in. (3 mm)
vertical corrective movement of the screed. Before that 1/8 in. (3 mm)
movement is accomplished, the paver must move 5 times the length of
the screed arm.
 For a screed to rebalance, it
takes 5 tow arm lengths for
the screed to rebalance the
forces working against it. This
distance for these forces to
balance is 50-60 feet [15 to
18m.]or 1 paver lengths.

We must be patient for the full reaction to take place.

 Dip the mat several times to
determine the average mat
thickness

Adjust angle of attack or

mat depth as required

Avoid overcorrection

Angle of attack may change frequently due to following reasons.

1. Over Correction of Hand or Automatic Controls

2. Over Sensitive Automatic Controls
3. Worn Screed Components
4. Poor Screed Maintenance
5. Cold Screed
The head of material is the most important force acting on the screed.
Some paving experts maintain that 90- 95 percent of paver-related
problems can be solved by maintaining a uniform head of material during
paving operations.
 If the volume of mix in
the auger chamber is
increased, the force on
the screed will also
increase, causing the
screed to rise. This
action will then cause
the angle of attack of
the screed to decrease
until a new equilibrium
position is reached.

If the amount of material being carried on the augers is decreased, the

thickness of the mat will be reduced, all other factors being equal, as
the screed falls. This results in an increase in the angle of attack of the
screed until the forces on the screed are once again in equilibrium.
Maintaining the material level equal to the height of the auger shaft
is the correct level for the paving operation. This should maintaining
with the help of salt conveyor speed, position of the feed gates and
and the paver speed.
It is necessary to operate the paver to meet the above requirements.
Hopper must be kept always 1/3 full. Salt conveyor and the auger
speed should tally with the paving speed of the paver to maintain a
correct material fill level in the auger chamber. To be efficient
operation of the system salt conveyor and the augers run
approximately 90% of the paving time.
 Hooper empty in one
side. This need to be
avoided during paving.

Over load auger condition

results lifting the screed
during paving and need to
correct by reducing angle
of attack.
Controlling of proper material level at the Auger camber

Foldable hoppers

Adjustable Augers.

Augers Positioned115 mm & 243 mm

(4.5 & 9.5 Inches) Above Grade

Use Auger extensions

where ever possible.
 Adjust gates to maintain material
level in the auger box at auger
shaft height.
For extended paving widths use
lower gate position to allow
material time to be augered from
the end of the conveyor shaft to
the outer edges of the screed
without overloading the center.

For high quality paving operation:

1. To maintain consistent head of material to match with the

level of the auger shafts.
2. Adjust the conveyor speed and the height of the feed gates to
achieve at least 90% running of the conveyors and augers.
3. Keep the conveyors full and hopper 1/3 full at all time.
4. Adjust the flow gates to suite width, depth and speed.
How past should the paver
operates ?????
Factors affecting the Paver speed

1. Material supply to the hopper

2. Number and size of trucks
3. Rolling and compaction rates
4. Size of the mixing plant
5. Distance from plant to paver
6. Mat dimensions
7. Grades
A good steady supply of Truck to Stop 30 cm (1ft)
material is essential for in Front of Paver -Paver
non-stop smooth paving Picks up Truck
operation

Dont hold the brake on

Dont bump the paver while unloading.
 Weight of the screed
w

F Reaction from
Shear force R the material
between material under the screed
and the screed
Screed weight is a function of the design and impacts the reaction
forces (R & F)
 w

F
Reaction forces R & F determine by the
R 1. Screed weight
2. Mix gradation
3. Mix temperature
4. Mat thickness
Should require better understanding of paver operation. By
selecting proper paver speed, maintaining consistent material
head and proper maintaining the angle of attack can achieve
better paving performance at the end.