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CRISPS Webinar: Epoxy Modified Bitumen – Performance from Laboratory Test, Trials and Applications to Date
December 14, 2021 @ 8:00 am – 9:00 am CET
About the Webinar
Roads are the backbone of any countries’ economy and communities’ socio-wellbeing. Sparsely populated regions around the world rely heavily on their roads for the transportation of goods and people. Unbound granular pavements with conventional chip seals are ideal for using local labour and materials. Surfaces require considerable maintenance using appropriately skilled labour, typically every 8-12 years on high-volume roads. This makes them less than ideal for Low-Income Countries (LICs) with restricted maintenance budgets. Pavements containing asphaltic layers can be built to require little maintenance over long periods but are expensive to build, require specialist skills, and expensive construction machinery.
Of additional concern with traditional technologies in Africa’s LICs is their performance on roads subject to prolonged periods of extreme temperatures, since this can lead to bitumen bleeding/tracking down the road and road surfaces being torn apart. Climate change is expected to increase the duration and number of such extreme temperature events in parts of Africa and Asia. This research investigates the feasibility of using Modified Epoxy bitumen in Porous Asphalt (MEAC) and Chip Seals (MECS) which addresses climate-related issues with conventional bitumen in asphalt and chip seal. This technology can be used to build unbound granular pavements (locally built with as much or as little labour as desired) with MECS and MEAC which would produce a long-life pavement with little need for maintenance. It would also need low investment in machinery. Initial research outcomes suggested these surfaces have the potential to last more than 40 years.
This webinar presented some early findings from the “Climate resilient sustainable road pavement surfacing (CRISPS)” research programme funded by the UK Aid’s High Volume Transport Applied Research Programme (HVT) in collaboration with the University of Birmingham (UoB), the University of Auckland (UoA), the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and the International Road Federation (IRF). The webinar covered an introduction to the Epoxy Modified Bitumen performance from laboratory test, trials and applications to date. It also provided the methodology used for calibrating HDM-4 deterioration models using Long-term Performance Programme data and laboratory results.
Watch the recording now:
Speaking for You
Dr Theuns F.P Henning
CMEngNZ, IntPE
International expert in infrastructure asset management and Climate Adpatation
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Theuns is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, he is also a founding member of the Climate Adaptation Platform, specialising in Asset Management, Performance Monitoring, Climate Adaptation, Performance-Based Contracts and Benchmarking. He holds a Masters of Engineering (Transportation) from the University of Pretoria, South Africa and completed his PhD at the University of Auckland in 2009, where he was the recipient of the Foundation for Research and Technology Bright Future Scholarship.
He has completed a number of projects for the World Bank supporting countries with the integration of climate resilience into asset management. These countries include the Philippines, South Africa, Vanuatu. Solomon Islands, St Vincent and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
David Alabaster
Principal Pavements Engineer, Waka Kotahi
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Dave Alabaster is a Principal Pavements Engineer with Waka Kotahi and manages the CAPTIF Road Research Centre in Christchurch. In addition to managing CAPTIF David is responsible for the development and revision of road construction specifications and pavement design guides. The work is based on industry consultation, research results, and technological advances in road design and construction. He is a member of the National Pavements Technical Group and the AUSTROADS Pavement Structure Working Group. He holds a Master of Engineering (Civil) from the University of Canterbury and is currently studying for his PhD part-time at the University of Auckland.