Bitumen rubber grit seals: the history and performance set trends for future roads

Bitumen Rubber Grit Seals were identified as a more sustainable alternative in the Roodepoort (Ruimsig) Agricultural Holdings environment relative to re-gravelling in the late 1990’s. The bitumen rubber properties were modified to provide a product with a lower application temperature. The binder was used in combination with 9,5mm, 6,5mm and minus 4,75mm grit on roads with a range of traffic conditions. After more than 15 years of service, and under increasing traffic due to the urban sprawl in the West Rand of Johannesburg, many of these roads are still performing exceptionally well and this paper is intended to provide a case study of the various roads. From the case studies, a cost effective solution to the Metropolitans will be formulated and proposed for consideration in both rural and urban street development. The paper-thin (<5mm thickness) Bitumen Rubber Grit Seals done with minus 4.75mm grit provides the worst case conditions and presents the most amazing performance characteristics. The authors are confident that these thin seals may revolutionise the strategy in municipal and rural road maintenance and construction, and will even provide a more durable alternative for surface treatments, gravel maintenance and dust control and prolong the maintenance intervals of urban road networks. Since 2010 a New Crumb Rubber Technology (NCRT) has been introduced and successfully applied in spray seal applications. It also has the added benefit of enabling production and handling of the material at warm mix temperatures allowing extended product shelf-life. The material has a lower viscosity at lower temperatures, which ensures that the binder doesn’t age prematurely during handling. Compared to conventional bitumen rubber, NCRT utilised in a grit seal application will contribute to improved durability due to reduced binder ageing because of lower handling and application temperatures. The successes observed with Bitumen Rubber Grit Seal may be surpassed by the use of NCRT in a grit seal application.

• Authors:
  • Muller, J
  • Lambert, J
  • Hechter, D
  • Hattingh, J
• Conference:
  • Conference on Asphalt Pavements for Southern Africa (CAPSA15), 11th, 2015, Sun City, South Africa
• Publication Date: 2015-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 8p
• Monograph Title: 11th Conference on Asphalt Pavements for Southern Africa: CAPSA15, 16-19 August 2015, Sun City, South Africa

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Binder content; Pavement layers; Pavement maintenance; Rubber; Temperature
• Uncontrolled Terms: Materials technology (asphalt/bitumen/concrete)
• Geographic Terms: Johannesburg (South Africa)
• ATRI Terms: Binder content; Pavement layer; Pavement maintenance; Rubber; Temperature
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01597141
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• Files: ATRI
• Created Date: Apr 22 2016 11:17AM