Bitumen is a by-product of the fractional distillation of crude oil, but is also found in natural deposits. It has water-proofing and adhesive properties and thus has been used for thousands of years. Bitumen is widely used in roofing, road and pavement applications. However, it has significant drawbacks. Bitumen is brittle under low temperature and becomes soft under high temperature conditions. If used for pavement, likely results during time are dust, potholes, rutting, corrugation and other surface degradations caused by heavy traffic or extreme temperature. The road deteriorations lead to unsafe traffic conditions, decreased useful life of vehicles and higher road maintenance costs. One of the methods to improve bitumen properties is to blend it with polymers, to produce polymer modified bitumen. Polymers change the visco-elastic behaviour of the bitumen and thus make it more resistible to different stresses. The addition of even small amounts of polymer dramatically changes the rheological properties of the asphalt binder.
Global Road Technology’s product, GRT9000, is a type of polymer modified bitumen used in construction of high-quality and cost-effective pavements. This product acts as a physical and chemical binder for soil or pavement particles. The result of treatment is hard, semi-flexible and water impermeable surface with improved compressive strength and tensile resilience. This polymer modified bitumen contributes to improved performance over the wide temperature range, providing a greater resistance to cracking at low temperatures and reducing the tendency for deformation at high temperatures. The use of polymer modified bitumen for road applications can be considered necessity as traffic volumes and weight of vehicles increase. Although there is global tendency to make vehicles lighter, primarily for lower consumption of fuel, due to installation of up-to-date vehicle equipment, the vehicles are actually becoming heavier.
Due to its advanced properties, GRT9000 treated pavement can be used to design and construct:
- Haul roads
- Rural and farming roads
- Service roads and hardstands,
- Base and sub-base layers of major public roads and infrastructure.
GRT:9000 has a wide range of applications, from forming the sub-base layer of conventional roads or repairing damaged roads to completely replacing bitumen and asphalt roads. As it is compatible with various materials, it can treat:
natural or manufactured granular pavement materials, in situ recycled pavements andsubgrade materials such as clays, silts and sands. Therefore, it can be implemented in combination with in-situ or imported materials.
Polymer modified bitumen, GRT9000, enables construction of pavements which are cost effective alternative to traditional bound pavements such as asphalt and concrete, saving from 50-70%. Additionally, GRT9000 can be used to improve the performance of traditional cementitious stabilising agents. This can reduce the quantity of cement or lime required in pavement construction, or completely replace them.
Compared to conventional roads, GRT9000 polymer modified bitumen drastically reduces material and haulage costs, construction time and your project’s carbon footprint – especially in remote areas. This makes GRT9000 roads greener, cheaper and longer lasting.
Benefits accomplished by use of GRT9000:
- Efficient construction, with a skilled crew laying 6000m2 per shift.
- High strength polymer treated materials can reduce pavement thicknesses by 70%.
- Immediate cost benefits from construction and materials efficiency
- Long-term cost benefits from lower maintenance and repairs
Environmental protection – GRT products are non-toxic, have a low carbon footprint and use in-situ materialsGRT9000 polymer modified bitumen is manufactured to ISO9001 standards and has been comprehensively reviewed by leading independent testing institutions and major companies worldwide. It is independently verified as environmentally sustainable.
For more information regarding Global Road Technology or Polymer Modified Bitumen contact: https://globalroadtechnology.com/contact-grt/
