Asphalt Road Surface
Roads are built from various materials, but the main building material for road construction has been and remains asphalt, more precisely – an artificial building material asphalt concrete, consisting of a mixture of bitumen and other impurities. Asphalt or asphalt concrete road surface is one of the best options due to its combination of performance properties. An asphalt road is quickly built and put into operation almost immediately after the asphalt pavement is laid, asphalt concrete provides good adhesion of the wheels of road vehicles to the road surface, asphalt roads are easy to repair and maintain. In addition, road markings are clearly visible on the asphalt road surface, which, when using high-quality dyes, remains on the asphalt for a long time.
Modification of Bitumen (Asphalt)
If asphalt or asphalt concrete has a lot of useful properties and performance, why should it be modified? The answer is simple – to increase the operational properties of roads, reduce the cost of their construction, and even reduce environmental damage. For this purpose, special additives are used – bitumen modifiers or asphalt modifiers. Thermoplastic elastomers are used as asphalt modifiers, which are added to bitumen and significantly change its properties. As a result of the use of bitumen modifiers, the physical properties of the asphalt concrete mixture change – the temperature range of operation of the road surface expands, the temperature of asphalt laying decreases and the compaction capacity increases, the strength and wear resistance of roads built using modified asphalt concrete increases.
Asphalt Modifiers
A decrease in the temperature of asphalt pavement and an increase in the compaction capacity due to the use of asphalt modifiers allows paving asphalt from early spring to late autumn, and compaction with conventional road rollers, in addition, a decrease in the temperature of asphalt mixture laying by 10…30°C reduces the amount of harmful emissions into the atmosphere and the amount of energy spent on heating the asphalt, and as a result – has a positive effect on the environment.
Expansion of the temperature range at which a road built with the use of bitumen modifiers can be operated makes it possible to use such roads without restrictions both in winter and in summer, without fear of excessive fragility or plasticity of the road surface in each of the seasons, which has a positive effect on cargo turnover and, as a consequence, on the economy of the region and the country as a whole.
The increased strength of modified asphalt makes it possible to build reliable and durable roads for less money without compromising their performance. The use of bitumen modifiers allows to reduce the thickness of the asphalt pavement of the road by up to 40%, which provides significant savings in road construction costs. In addition, its high strength and low hygroscopicity make modified asphalt an ideal coating option for concrete and metal road bridges.
The use of bitumen modifiers makes road construction less expensive and more environmentally friendly, and the roads themselves – more reliable and safe.