Behind the Screed

21st Century Asphalt Pavements

The National Asphalt Pavement Association and the Federal Highway Administration will be hosting the 21st Century Asphalt Pavements Conference on June 19th and 20th in Cincinnati, Ohio. Educational sessions and roundtable discussions will focus on preservation, sustainability, and perpetual pavements. The agenda features thin-lifts, RAP, RAS, porous pavements and WMA.

From the NAPA website: "Today’s paving market places emphasis on pavement preservation and sustainability. The asphalt industry has sustainable solutions for each and every preservation project, from improving the surface of pavements with thin overlays to meeting new requirements to handle stormwater through porous pavements. At this conference, participants will learn about the latest innovations in thin asphalt overlays for pavement preservation and how asphalt pavements fit with new requirements for sustainability. Resource-responsible practices, such as warm-mix asphalt, reclaimed asphalt pavement, recycled asphalt shingles, and crumb rubber will be discussed with a focus on using these practices in combination for maximum impact.  Finally, as we move forward with highway funding and the need for reconstruction grows, there will be a session discussing the longest-lasting, most sustainable pavement in the world — the Perpetual Pavement."

Author: Heather Dolan

 

National Women Build Week

Women from throughout the MWV Specialty Chemicals Division donated their time and energy for this year's Women Build sponsored by Lowe's. This Habitat for Humanity program partners women from all over the Charleston community with a Habitat family to build and renovate a local home and transform their dream of living in quality affordable housing into a reality.  Our group worked on porches, painting, and (our favorite from last year) siding installation. Way to go, ladies!

Author: Heather Dolan

 

"Just a lot easier"

River Asphalt has run warm mix asphalt (WMA) in the past so they are familiar with WMA and best practices using WMA. When asked how Evotherm^® compared to other technologies, they replied that Evotherm was “just a lot easier…don’t have to mess with equipment and use another guy around the plant to feed the system.”

River Asphalt performed their first Evotherm project out of their batch plant in Dagsboro, Delaware last month. They produced the 9.5mm 20% RAP mix with PG 64-22 that had Evotherm terminally blended by NuStar Energy. The plant ran at 140 tph with 280°F mix temperatures during startup. They lowered the temperature to 260°F and increased the production rate 18% to 165 tph after startup. 

In the field, the results were good as well. All density readings were over 93% and anything over 93% is equal to 105% bonus pay. The completion of the project yielded excellent results with bonus pay and many compliments. The FOB/over-the-counter customers of River Materials also commented that the Evotherm mix they received was some of the best mix they have had in a while. 

 

 

Author: Jason Mapes

Paddles Up!

MWV sponsored three teams in this year's Dragon Boat Charleston festival. While "it's all about the cause", the Specialty Chemical Division was well represented by the boats Tropic Thunder, Leaki Tiki, and the Chemical Crusaders. The Chemical Crusaders finished 2nd overall out of 63 boats! Leaki Tiki took the silver in the B division. Tropic Thunder, aka the party boat, had a lot of fun! If you get a chance in your area, check out a local Dragon Boat Festival or visit Charleston next year for ours. Here's a shot of the motley crew from Asphalt Innovations and there are more pictures over on Facebook.

Dragon Boat Charleston (DBC) is South Carolina's FIRST dragonboat team. DBC offers recreational, cancer survivor and community paddling. DBC is made up of 150 (and growing) members. Some are cancer-survivors, some are community paddlers, some are Grand Masters (50 +), some are premiere racers and some like to watch the sunset on the Ashley River. DBC was founded in 2003 with the mission to promote physical and mental wellness among cancer survivors and their community through dragon boating. The festival raises money to support the program and to assist with the expenses of DBC cancer survivors at Survivor Races. 

Anti-strip Approval in New Brunswick

Evotherm 3G is now on the approved anti-stripping product list in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada. Evotherm 3G can be used on all 2012 work and beyond. The New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure completed laboratory testing using the aggregates from various quarries throughout the province with very good results. This is the first Canadian province to approve the use of Evotherm 3G as an anti-stipping product. In the United States, Evotherm is on the approved product list or is generally accepted for use in 19 states.

Author: Alain Cormier, McAsphalt Industries Limited

Web Archive: Utilizing RAP in WMA Webinar

Thanks to John Christensen for presenting our latest webinar, Utilizing RAP in WMA. Listeners hailed from 23 states, 4 Canadian Provinces, and 3 Countries (USA, Canada, and the Czech Republic). If you missed the original webcast, you can listen to the archive here. John's audio is a bit soft at first and gets louder after that.

To recap: using high amounts of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) in your mix design can save significant amounts of money in addition to being good for the environment. High-RAP mixes don't always excel in workability and can be difficult to manage. The solution has always been to go hotter so a high-RAP warm mix design seems counter intuitive. This webinar addressed how Evotherm WMA can be combined with high percentages of RAP and focuses on RAP activation, workability, and case studies.

Author: Heather Dolan