Lecture #10 Recycling, Noise and Dangerous Chemicals

H22 IS3 : Transport Infrastructure
Topic #10 :
Recycling, Noise & Dangerous Chemicals
Recycling
Re-using Asphalt or Concrete as Granular Materials
Hot Recycling of Asphalt
The Remix Process
Cold Recycling
Noise
Porous Asphalt
Microsurfacings
Whisper Concrete
Dangerous Chemicals
Contents
Pavement recycling is a topical subject & one which is likely to
become increasingly important as pressure on the earths
resources grows.
Pavements have long been considered as natural locations in
which to hide otherwise useless material.
Indeed, bitumen itself was not considered particularly
valuable before its potential as a binder for roads was realized.
Nowadays, slags & ashes are among those materials which
have found a natural use in road construction & are often
found to perform as well or even better than the virgin
material they replace.
Pressure on resources is one reason why recycling is a
desirable goal. However, there are others.
Recycling
A surprisingly high percentage of the damage caused to roads
is actually due to vehicles supplying material for construction,
much of it road construction.
Road recycling offers the possibility of cutting down on this
destructive traffic.
In-situ recycling also introduces the possibility of a much
quicker operation than the conventional partial reconstruction.
Unfortunately there are also negative aspects to recycling &
many of these are concerned with the technical performance
of recycled materials which is often inferior to conventional
products.
These problems are outlined next.
Recycling
Both bituminous material & concrete are suitable for reuse as
granular material after being crushed to appropriate sizes.
Crushed concrete generally forms an excellent aggregate
either as an unbound granular material or as aggregate to use
in fresh concrete.
The crushing action tends to release some of the cement in
the original concrete which then contributes to the binding
action.
Recycled asphalt planings are certainly usable as low quality
unbound material. Large thicknesses should be avoided
because of the potential for permanent deformation as the
bitumen slowly flows.
Recycled planings are often used as surfaces for very minor
pavements, for example car parks, farm access roads etc.
The binding action of the residual bitumen leads to an
acceptably stable surface.
Re-using Asphalt or Concrete as Granular Materials
The current UK standard permits up to 30% of recycled
planings to be used in a new bituminous mix.
In principle the process is very simple. The planings are
added to the new mix in the mixing drum & heated & mixed
with the rest of the material.
However, the following problems have to be overcome.
The planings must not be overheated, for example by
coming into direct contact with the heating flame,
otherwise dangerous fumes are given off.
A careful mix design has to be performed taking into
account the binder content & condition of the material in
the planings.
In practice, a very consistent supply of planings has to be
available for this sort of recycling to be 100% successful.
This last difficulty illustrates one of the fundamental problems
with all types of pavement recycling.
It is always likely that the final product is more variable than
the equivalent fresh material.
However, in spite of this, a number of countries, for example
the Netherlands, permit significantly higher percentages of
recycled planings than the UK with no lowering of
performance.
Recycling material in an asphalt plant does not overcome the
expenses & damage associated with delivery vehicles. This
can only be achieved by an in-situ process.
In the remix process illustrated above, the pavement surface
has to be heated, to a temperature of around 80 90C. At
this temperature the bituminous material is workable.
The main piece of equipment consists of a scarifier, a device
which scrapes up the surface to a depth of around 20 mm, a
mixer to mix the scarified material with additional fresh
asphalt, & a paver.
The Remix Process
The re-mixed material, when compacted, forms a single new
40mm wearing course.
This treatment is suitable when the existing wearing course has
started to deteriorate, either by rutting or cracking, but the
underlying layers are still in a sound condition.
Limitations are as follows:
A fairly consistent existing wearing course is necessary.
A careful mix design is required to establish the proportions
needed for the added material.
Material deeper than 20 mm below the original pavement surface
is not heated sufficiently to be significantly remoulded or
improved.
The process can only be considered as partial recycling because
of the need for new material.
An increased surface level has to be accommodated.
There is a danger of toxic fumes being emitted during the heating
process if it is not carefully controlled.
The Remix Process
The following 3 types of binder can be used to form a coldmix:
Cement (or other hydraulic binder - slag, ash)
Bitumen Emulsion
Foamed Bitumen
If cement is used than the material formed is likely to be a
roadbase quality layer.
Bitumen emulsion is a very widely used material, for example
as a binder for surface dressing. It consists of droplets of
bitumen suspended in water by the action of a chemical, an
emulsifying agent.
This allows the emulsion to be used as a liquid at normal air
temperatures. When mixed with an aggregate the bitumen
droplets begin to be attracted to the aggregate surface.
Cold Recycling
However, this process remains a slow one until compaction of
the mix greatly accelerates it. The result is a bitumen bound
mix with a considerable amount of water, which has to be
allowed to evaporate.
Foamed bitumen is an alternative form of bitumen, also
suitable for mixing with cold materials.
Each of the 3 binder types can be used in a mixing plant to
give a mix for use in a pavement.
However, it would not be usual to use cement in this way
except where the recycled material, for example crushed
concrete, is simply being used as an alternative to conventional
aggregate.
Cold Recycling
Plant mixes using either emulsion or foamed bitumen together
with recycled planings are operated commercially in the UK.
They have the useful property that they remain workable for
long periods after mixing, even up to several months, & so can
be stockpiled until ready for use.
The alternative to a plant mix is in-situ recycling. This is
achieved by using a piece of equipment such as that shown
below.
Cold Recycling
The pavement is milled using a very powerful tool to a depth of
up to 35 mm. This breaks the existing bound layers into quite
small pieces.
The broken pavement fragments are then mixed with
whichever binder is to be used, compacted &, usually at a later
date, a new surface is applied.
The process mixes all the material together which have been
milled so, in a depth of up to 350 mm, it is possible that
bituminous, granular & even soil may be included.
The quantity & type of binder added has to be suited to the
materials present.
Cold Recycling
Noise is one of the greatest environmental nuisances
associated with roads & the appreciation of it has increased
greatly in recent years.
Road noise comes from 2 basic sources, namely;
Engine noise
Tyre/surface interaction noise.
Engine noise is mainly a matter for the vehicle manufacturers,
although the sound absorbing properties of the surface
determine to some degree the amount of engine noise which
escapes.
However, tyre/surface noise is a matter for the highway
engineer, & nowadays there are several noise reducing surfaces
which can be used (for a price).
Noise
This type of material has been available for many years & has
frequently been used on airfield pavements as a spray reducing
surface.
It consists of a bitumen bound mixture with a fairly open
grading such that, when compacted, it still contains relatively
high voids.
This structure makes the material both permeable to water &
adsorbent to sound.
The difference in noise level compared to a conventional
surface is very significant indeed.
Unfortunately, the engineering properties of the material are
not nearly as good.
Porous Asphalt
These are surfacings which are laid by a special sort of paver to
a thickness of 15 25 mm.
They consist of an aggregate with a grading which, like porous
asphalt, is intended to ensure that the void content remains
reasonable high.
Microsurfacings
The bitumen content is also
fairly high, resulting in a
mix which, as well as the
high void content is also
durable, a very important
feature if an economic
solution is to be found.
The noise absorbing
properties are not as good
as those of porous asphalt
but are still significantly
better than most
conventional surfaces.
These materials will
certainly be used in large
quantities in the near future.
Microsurfacings
This term may seem like a pure contradiction.
Concrete is perceived by most road users to be the noisiest
surface of all, inducing considerable vibration to vehicles.
However, whisper concrete (more properly exposed aggregate
finished concrete) is different in that it gives to the concrete the
same type of surface as an asphalt.
Whisper Concrete
The conventional way in which the texture is given to a
concrete road surface is to form grooves either by sawing the
surface or by dragging a wire brush over the wet concrete.
Either way, the result is a ridged surface with the basic skid
resistance being provided by the cement mortar of each ridge.
The exposed aggregate finish uses high skid resistance stones
in the final few centimetres of concrete.
The finished surface is sprayed with a retarder to stop it setting
immediately &, next morning, the loss mortar is brushed off,
leaving the exposed high quality aggregate.
The effect is a dramatically reduced level of tyre noise.
Whisper Concrete
An increasingly aware public is demanding ever increasing
safety standards with regard to the use of questionable
materials in road construction.
The result is that some of the materials which in the past were
regarded as indispensable are now hardly used.
Tar
Tar is the binder which gave us tarmacadam & its
abbreviation tarmac, now both a well known firm & a word
in the English language in its own right.
However, recent evidence that it contains carcinogenic
(cancer causing) substances has meant that it is now hardly
ever used.
Dangerous Chemicals
Cut-backs
One of the commonest ways of using bitumen (or tar) in a
cold form used to be as a cutback, that is a solution of
bitumen & kerosene.
Again, kerosene, as a solvent, has been demonstrated to be
damaging to health, & so the alternative of a bitumen
emulsion is now much more commonly used.
Dangerous Chemicals
Sulphates
Sulphates are the commonest of many chemicals in road
materials which pose the possible problem of contamination
of water supplies if they leach out of the road itself & find
their way into drinking water.
Sulphates also damage concrete & this problem has to be
avoided around bridge piers for example.
Unfortunately, the sulphate problem is one of those currently
preventing the re-use of one of the UKs most abundant
waste materials, colliery spoil.
Dangerous Chemicals
The End of Topic #10

Lecture #10 Recycling, Noise and Dangerous Chemicals

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H22 IS3 : Transport Infrastructure

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