Asphalt emulsification equipment is the core special equipment for preparing emulsified asphalt. Its operation stability, shear grinding accuracy and proportion control accuracy directly determine the key indexes such as particle state, storage stability and construction workability of emulsified asphalt, and are the core guarantee for highway maintenance, micro-surfacing and slurry sealing.According to the industry standard of JTG 3410-2025 Test Code for Asphalt and Asphalt Mixture in Highway Engineering, asphalt emulsion equipment test is mainly carried out around four dimensions: mechanical performance of equipment, quality of emulsified finished products, material adaptability and operation stability. All kinds of test methods are targeted to solve the quality inspection problems in equipment selection, commissioning, acceptance and operation and maintenance.This paper systematically combs the mainstream standardized test methods, and expounds the test principle, operation process, judgment standard and technical points in detail.

Equipment basic performance verification test

Equipment basic performance test is the basic inspection item for regular calibration before emulsion equipment is put into production, which mainly verifies the core mechanical parameters such as equipment measurement accuracy, speed stability, temperature control accuracy, etc., and avoids emulsion defects such as imbalance of proportion, insufficient shear, abnormal temperature, etc. from the source.

Material metering accuracy test

This test is used to detect the conveying flow accuracy and proportioning stability of asphalt pump and emulsifier aqueous solution pump, which is the key test to ensure the solid content and proportioning compliance of emulsified asphalt, and is suitable for all intermittent and continuous asphalt emulsification equipment.
Test principle: through quantitative weighing method, compare the equipment set delivery flow with the actual output flow, verify the measurement error of the material delivery system, and ensure that the asphalt and emulsion ratio meets the design requirements.
Test procedure: Firstly, the equipment is preheated and ready, the residual materials in the conveying pipeline are cleared, and the circulating mode is started for trial operation for 5~10 minutes to ensure the stable operation state of the equipment; secondly, the asphalt conveying pipeline and emulsion conveying pipeline are separately measured, and the common construction flow gear is set; thirdly, the materials are received by accurate electronic scales, the timing is 3 minutes, the actual output material mass is weighed, and three groups of parallel tests are repeated; fourthly, the measurement error is calculated by comparing the set flow rate with the actual average flow rate.
Judgment standard: the measurement error of conventional emulsification equipment materials shall be ≤ ± 2%, the measurement error of modified emulsification equipment shall be ≤ ± 1.5%, and the pump speed, regulating valve and measurement sensor shall be calibrated if the error exceeds the standard.

shear speed stability test

The shear speed of colloid mill is the key parameter of asphalt particle refinement. The fluctuation of shear speed will directly lead to uneven size and emulsion stratification of asphalt particles.This test is used to verify the rotational speed stability of colloid mill and high speed shear machine.
Test steps: Under no-load and load conditions, start the equipment to rated working state, monitor the speed of colloid mill in real time with speed detector, record data every 30 seconds, and continuously monitor for 10 minutes; compare the rated speed with the actual speed, and calculate the speed fluctuation difference.
Judgment standard: under rated working speed, speed fluctuation deviation ≤±5%, load operation without jamming, speed drop phenomenon, meet asphalt uniform shear emulsification requirements.

Temperature control accuracy test

The temperature of asphalt and emulsion directly affects the emulsification effect. Too high temperature will easily lead to emulsion breaking failure, and too low temperature will cause poor asphalt fluidity and insufficient shear.This test verifies the accuracy of the temperature control system of the equipment.
Test steps: Set asphalt heating temperature and emulsion constant temperature (normal construction temperature range) respectively, after the equipment is stable at constant temperature for 30 minutes, use high-precision thermometer to detect the actual temperature of tank body and discharge port materials respectively, and record data by multi-point temperature measurement.
Judgment criteria: temperature control error ≤±2℃, no large fluctuation of temperature in the whole process, sensitive start-stop of temperature control system, no continuous heating or abnormal cooling.

Quality Related Equipment Test of Emulsified Finished Product

This kind of test is the core test item to judge the emulsification ability of the equipment by detecting the finished product index of emulsified asphalt produced by the equipment and reversely verifying the shearing, mixing and emulsifying performance of the equipment, which fully conforms to the requirements of JTG 3410-2025 new standard.

Screen residue test (emulsion uniformity test)

The test is used to test the shearing grinding effect of equipment, judge whether the asphalt is completely refined and has no large particle agglomeration, and is a key index to test the working performance of colloid mill.
Test principle: filter emulsified asphalt sample with standard sieve, count residual amount of unrefined asphalt large particles, and visually reflect uniformity of shear emulsification of equipment.
Test steps: equipment normal emulsification operation, collect fresh emulsified asphalt samples; filter samples with 1.2mm standard sieve, wash the sieve repeatedly with clean water to remove attached emulsion; dry and weigh the residual materials on the sieve, and calculate the proportion of the sieve residue to the total mass of the sample.
Judgment standard: sieve residue <0.3%, no obvious asphalt caking, large particles, indicating that the equipment shear grinding performance is qualified, emulsification uniformity up to standard.

Particle fineness and distribution test 

The particle size and distribution uniformity of asphalt particles directly determine the storage stability and construction performance of emulsified asphalt, which is the core test item of high-end emulsification equipment. 
Test method: adopt microscopic observation method or laser particle size analyzer to detect, collect fresh emulsion at discharge port of equipment, make microscopic sample, observe asphalt particle size. 
Judgment standard: asphalt particles below 5μm account for ≥80%, the particles are evenly distributed, and there is no agglomeration phenomenon, which proves that the equipment has good high-speed shearing and colloid mill grinding performance, and the emulsion quality meets the standard. 

Engler viscosity test (equipment discharge viscosity stability) 

Viscosity stability reflects the consistency of equipment ratio and shear state, and can effectively determine whether working conditions fluctuate during equipment operation. 
Test basis: T0622-2025 Standard Viscosity Test for Emulsified Asphalt (Engler Viscometer Method) Test steps: Keep the emulsified asphalt sample produced by the equipment at constant temperature to the standard test temperature, and avoid bubbles in the sample during constant temperature; inject the sample into the viscosity cup, and operate the viscometer after standing and stabilizing to determine the Engler viscosity of the sample; collect the sample once every 10 minutes, and continuously detect 5 groups of data to verify the viscosity stability of the equipment discharge. 
Judgment standard: the deviation of viscosity values of multiple groups of samples is very small, which conforms to the viscosity standard of corresponding type emulsified asphalt, indicating that the equipment ratio and shear condition are stable and there is no abnormal operation. 

Material adaptation and demulsification performance test 

This kind of test mainly verifies the compatibility of emulsified asphalt and mineral aggregate produced by the equipment, indirectly evaluates the compatibility ability of equipment emulsification formula and the stability of discharge, and adapts to the actual construction scene of the project. 

Demulsification speed test 

Demulsification speed directly affects the construction window period of emulsified asphalt. Unstable emulsification state of equipment will lead to abnormal demulsification speed, too fast initial setting or long-term non-segregation. 
Test rationale: T 0658 - 2025 Demulsification Performance Test of Emulsified Asphalts Test procedures: Divide the rock chip mineral materials commonly used in the project into two groups A and B, each group of 200g; in the cationic emulsified asphalt test, add 5ml distilled water to the mineral materials of group A, mix well, add 20g emulsion produced by equipment, and mix at 260r/min for 30s; add 30ml distilled water to the mineral materials of group B, mix well, add 50g emulsion, and mix for 60s; Anionic emulsified asphalt is directly mixed with emulsion, and the mixing state of mineral aggregate and emulsion, demulsification and coagulation are observed in the whole process. 
Judgment standard: The emulsion breaking speed produced by the equipment meets the corresponding grade standards of fast cracking, medium cracking and slow cracking, and there is no abnormal agglomeration and segregation in mixing, which proves that the emulsion performance of the equipment is stable and suitable for construction conditions. 

particle ion charge test 

It is used to verify the fusion effect of emulsifier and asphalt in the emulsification process of equipment, judge whether the ionic properties of the produced emulsion are accurate, and avoid the deviation of ionic properties caused by abnormal equipment conditions. 
Test steps: control the room temperature at 23 ℃ ± 5 ℃, clean, polish and dry the electrode plate; inject the fresh emulsion sample produced by the equipment into the test beaker, access the electrode electrification test, observe the asphalt adhesion state of the electrode plate, and determine the ionic charge attribute of the emulsion. 
Judgment standard: The ionic charge attribute of emulsified asphalt produced is consistent with the design, and the charge distribution is uniform, which indicates that the equipment is fully emulsified and mixed, and the emulsifier ratio and stirring system operate normally. 

Overall stability and durability test of equipment 

continuous running stability test 

In view of the batch construction scenario of the project, it is an important item to assess the working condition stability of the equipment for long-term continuous operation, which is the factory acceptance of the equipment and the mobilization verification of the project. 
Test steps: The equipment runs continuously at full load for 4~6 hours, and the core parameters such as flow rate, rotation speed, temperature and pressure are monitored in the whole process; the emulsion sample is collected every 30 minutes, and the sieve allowance, viscosity and uniformity indexes are detected; and the equipment is recorded for abnormal conditions such as leakage, abnormal sound, stagnation and sudden temperature rise. 
Judgment standard: the whole equipment parameters are stable without abnormality, the deviation of each group of samples meets the standard, there is no quality fluctuation, and the continuous operation performance of the equipment is qualified. 

Pipeline cleaning and residual performance test 

The residual materials in the pipeline of emulsion equipment are easy to affect the quality of next emulsion. This test examines the self-cleaning performance of equipment and the stability of working condition switching. After the test is completed, start the equipment pipeline flushing procedure, check the residual materials in the pipeline and colloid mill after flushing, and if there is no asphalt agglomeration and emulsion residue, it is qualified, which can effectively avoid batch cross contamination. 

General precautions for test 

1. All tests shall strictly follow the new standard JTG 3410-2025, the test instruments shall be calibrated in advance, the test environment temperature and humidity shall meet the specification requirements, and the environmental factors shall be avoided to interfere with the test results. 
2. Samples are collected from fresh emulsion after normal and stable discharge of equipment, and unstable materials at the initial stage of startup are discarded to ensure that the test data truly reflect the normal working conditions of equipment. 
3. For each group of tests, 3 or more parallel tests shall be set up, and the data shall be averaged to eliminate abnormal errors to ensure accurate and reliable test results. 
4. After the test is completed, clean the equipment and test instruments in time to avoid asphalt solidification and emulsion scaling affecting equipment accuracy and subsequent tests. 

Conclusion 

The asphalt emulsification equipment test is divided into four systems: equipment mechanical performance verification, finished product quality inspection, construction adaptation performance verification and continuous operation stability assessment. Each test is coordinated with each other and progressive layer by layer, which can not only accurately investigate hardware faults such as equipment measurement, shearing and temperature control, but also comprehensively verify the quality of emulsified finished products, so as to ensure the construction quality of emulsified asphalt engineering from the equipment end. In actual engineering application, it is necessary to select test items according to equipment type (ordinary emulsion, modified emulsion) and construction scenario (micro-surface, sticky layer and sealing layer), regularly carry out equipment calibration test, timely debug and rectify hidden dangers of equipment, and ensure stability and compliance of emulsified asphalt production.