NCAT Enters A New Era of Research

9th Test Track cycle launches with aim of creating tests and specifications to design more sustainable pavements that incorporate high levels of recycled materials

The National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University provides essential research and development to ensure the asphalt industry can deliver pavements that are durable, sustainable, quiet, safe and economical, NCAT’s work has supported the infrastructure that has kept Americans moving for nearly four decades.

A unique research asset that NCAT has is its Test Track, the only high-speed, full-scale accelerated pavement testing facility in the U.S. and one of only two in the world.

This facility develops and tests innovative road-surfacing methods and groundbreaking experimentation conducted by engineers, researchers and students, allowing for the simulation of 6-8 years of heavy interstate-level traffic in two years, all without risking failures on public roads.

Built in 2000 and located 30 minutes from Auburn’s campus, the 1.7-mile oval is comprised of 46 experimental test sections sponsored cooperatively by highway agencies and private industry on a three-year cycle.

Throughout each cycle, loaded trucks generate 10 million equivalent single axle loads (ESALs) on the track.

A wireless network facilitates high-speed data transmission from test sections equipped with strain gauges and pressure plates to track pavement responses.