Asphalt concrete is a composite material commonly used in construction projects such as road surfaces, airports and parking lots. It consists of asphalt (used as a binder) and mineral aggregate mixed together, then laid down in layers and compacted. It is also increasingly used as the core for embankment dams.
The terms "asphalt (or asphaltic) concrete", "bituminous asphalt concrete" and the abbreviation "AC" are typically used only in engineering and construction documents and literature. Asphalt concrete pavements are often called just "asphalt" by laypersons who tend to associate the term concrete with Portland cement concrete only. The engineering definition of concrete is any composite material composed of mineral aggregate glued together with a binder, whether that binder is Portland cement, asphalt or even epoxy. Informally, asphalt concrete is also referred to as "blacktop", particularly in North America.
Mixing of asphalt and aggregate is accomplished in one of several ways:
Asphalt concrete pavements—especially those at airfields—are sometimes called tarmac for historical reasons, although they do not contain tar and are not constructed using the macadam process.