Mix Blending Enhancement System ASTEC INTELLI-PAC. Mix Blending Enhancement System 1

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1 Mix Blending Enhancement System ASTEC INTELLI-PAC Mix Blending Enhancement System 1

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3 ASTEC INTELLI-PAC Mix Blending Enhancement System The ASTEC Intelli-Pac mix blending enhancement system gathers real-time moisture and AC content information and makes adjustments on-the-fly to maximize plant efficiency 2. When producing hot mix asphalt (HMA) it is critical that the parameters of the material entering the process are known. The difficulty in doing this is that the conditions of the material, such as moisture content, are ever changing. The Astec Intelli-PAC system addresses these fluctuations by generating real-time data so that the plant control may respond to fluctuating conditions as they occur.

4 INTELLI-PAC MIX BLENDING ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM The Intelli-PAC system uses a series of sensors to measure real-time material conditions rather than relying on lab measurements from earlier in the day. By having real-time data fed into the control system, the computer can respond to fluctuations in conditions immediately. This means that the plant runs more efficiently, saving liquid AC, fuel, aggregate, and labor. REAL TIME MEASUREMENTS Virgin Aggregate Water Content: The cold feed bin sensors capture and report real-time water content to the control system. This dictates how much fuel is required to dry the aggregate and bring it to temperature, as well as the AC required for mix specifications. RAP Water Content and AC Content: Sensors capture both water content of the recycle material as well as how much binder it contains. This data is used to determine how much liquid AC is necessary for the mix. Moisture data combined with belt scale measurements enable the plant computer to calculate the necessary fuel burn rate to dry the material and bring it to the desired mix temperature.

5 BETTER FUEL EFFICIENCY, LESS WASTE Material moisture data is used to calculate the heat requirements and anticipates required burner fuel flow adjustments so that virgin aggregate reaches the target temperature necessary to achieve desired mix temperature. Proactive adjustment enables very responsive automatic burner operation and excellent mix temperature control even during startups. This ability can greatly reduce or even eliminate startup and shutdown waste. OPTIMAL LIQUID METERING By knowing the real-time moisture content in both the virgin aggregate and recycle as well as the binder content in the recycle 2, the possibility of making out-of-specification mix caused by binder content being either high or low is minimized. Additionally, precision is increased to a level that allows the operator to choose operational targets within the specification binder content of the mix. BETTER CONTROL INCREASES PROFIT With optimized control of system inputs and requirements, mix-specific requirements can be obtained more quickly, reducing the out of spec startup waste. It also allows for less wasteful, on-the-fly mixing changes. This saves money and keeps margins high, especially for contractors who use multiple mix designs.

6 V-PAC SYSTEM STACK TEMPERATURE CONTROL SYSTEM OPTIONAL V-PAC STACK TEMPERATURE CONTROL SYSTEM The Intelli-PAC works hand-in-hand with the patented 3 ASTEC V-PAC Stack Temperature Control System. The V-PAC combines Astec s V-flights and a drum VFD (variable frequency drive) to enable optimization of stack temperature for a broad range of mix types without costly flighting changes. V-flights are uniquely designed to maximize heat transfer by exposing more material to the heat produced by the burner. While the V-PAC can be purchased independently of the Intelli-PAC system, the two can work together to improve plant efficiency. In fact, the parameters from the Intelli-PAC system enhance the V-PAC system to help drive the stack temperature even lower than the V-PAC system alone. V-PAC SYSTEM STACK TEMPERATURE CONTROL SYSTEM 3 If the actual temperature is different from the set point, the drum speed is adjusted. 2 Actual temperature is compared to the baghouse set point temperature. The software instructs the variable frequency drive to increase or decrease drum speed to match the baghouse temperature set point. 4 1 Baghouse stack temperature is measured at the baghouse inlet. REFERENCES 1. U.S. Patent No. 9,353, Real time data of the AC content of RAP will be available late U.S. Patent No. 8,863,404 B1

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