Road Sealing
Geotas and Road Sealing
Reducing the cost of road construction whilst maintaining pavement design life is the holy grail for engineers, contractors and asset owners.
Geotas are able to provide geosynthetic solutions for all parts of the pavement formation which can reduce construction costs by up to 30% whilst improving design life by up to six times.
The sub-grade and base layer stabilization elements of pavement construction are dealt with under our “geogrids-Road stabilization” page, whilst separation and filtration are covered under “Geotextiles”.
The Road Sealing elements relate to products used for Asphalt reinforcement, and surface sealing:
Asphalt Reinforcement
Increased traffic imposes higher strains within asphalt pavements which fatigues the asphaltic layers, resulting in asphalt cracking and water penetration into the pavement, which leads to further deterioration. Asphalt reinforcement provides fatigue resistance, mitigating subgrade rutting and reducing cracking through improved shear resistance.
Geoas offers Tensar AR-G a proven pavement reinforcement technology for retarding cracking and controlling deformation as well as the specialist range of GlasGrid asphalt reinforcement products that can be used in asphalt overlays as thin as 40 mm.
Tensar AR-G
Tensar asphalt reinforcement technology has been established for twenty years and the products are proven for retarding cracking and controlling deformation in pavements internationally. The Tensar AR-G system consists of a polypropylene geogrid and geotextile with stiff rectangular ribs and strong junctions. It has high grid junction strength and a deep rib profile.
Independent testing has shown that Tensar AR-G geogrid can increase the fatigue life of pavements with weak foundations by up to a factor of ten, reduces rutting by up to 70% and reduces reflective cracking in overlays making it well suited for both new road construction as well as repair to existing cracked road within the urban road network and for airport and sea port applications. It is commonly used where pavement thickness is greater than 70mm.
GlasGrid
GlasGrid reduces both thermal and stress-related cracking. Its self-adhesive application allows for quick installation and the fibreglass components account for its exceptional performance. The fiberglass grid is “sandwiched” between the levelling and surface courses of asphalt, and is designed to turn crack stresses horizontally and dissipate the stress. GlasGrid helps retard cracking from reflecting through a new asphalt overlay to the surface.
GlasGrid pavement reinforcement geogrids are manufactured to ISO 9001 quality standards. It is silica based and has a high melting point (+215 degrees C) and pressure-sensitive adhesive. GlasGrid is available in rolls from 1.5 m to 3.0 m wide. It has excellent UV and oxidation resistance and performance is not affected by creep. It is easily milled and recycled and environmentally friendly. GlasGrid pavement reinforcement geogrids are suitable for use in paving fabric applications. It has a low elongation and it bonds well on the levelling course. GlasGrid can be easily installed from the back of a ute and no special equipment is required.
Using GlasGrid can dramatically extend the life of roads, runways and parking lots and lower maintenance costs.
Surface Sealing
Sealmac Green
Sealmac® Green nonwoven paving fabrics manufactured from continuous polyester fibre have been widely utilised in the maintenance and rehabilitation of pavement surfacing in both Australia and New Zealand.
Sealmac® Green paving fabrics incorporated into new spray seals and asphalt overlays ensure prevention of infiltration of moisture through surface cracks, into the structural road pavement layers. Moisture weakens the shear strength of pavement layers, which with the combination of time and traffic, leads to surface deformation (rutting) and loss of bonding at the surfacing interface.
Sealmac® Green provides an effective, inexpensive method of waterproofing and stress alleviation, mitigating the effects of reflective cracking in pavements while extending pavement life. Performance assessment and cost comparisons of various treatments show that Sealmac can provide up to 100% longer life for up to 30% additional investment.
Sealmac® Green paving fabrics range consists of a PF1 grade suitable for spray seal and asphalt maintenance applications and a PF2 grade for additional waterproofing and low volume special application roads.
Bitac Multi-Laminate Road Tape
Bitac is a high strength tape used in concrete and asphalt road pavements. It is used to control crack reflection as well as provide stress relief and waterproofing of joints.
Bitac consists of a self-adhesive geotextile that is impregnated with bitumen. This combination gives the product a rugged durability and high conformity to road surfaces.
It has high strength and high elongation properties to ensure the waterproofing function and stress relief performance is maintained under the expected traffic loads.
Bitac also acts as a waterproofing, stress-relieving membrane between the old road surface and the new seal, providing a long-term solution for road, bridge and culvert joints and repairs.