15th

Australian Asphalt Pavement Association

International Flexible Pavements Conference
Brisbane 22-25 September 2013

Developing
Warm Mix Asphalt
For Airports
Greg White
Technical Manager Airports
0400 218 048
greg.white@fultonhogan.com.au
www.fultonhogan.com

Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
Scope
Background
What is Warm Mix Asphalt?
Advantages and Benefits
Common Technologies
Historical Usage
Australian Airport Experience
The Future
Conclusions

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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
Background

Warm Mix Asphalt is an alternate to Hot Mix Asphalt

100 or so asphalt surfaced airports in Australia
Generally 50-60 mm of nominal 14 mm HMA
Current demand of around 100,000 tonnes per year
Owners desire technically sound solutions that are:
Environmentally sustainable
Safe

AIM: To demonstrate WMA is a technically viable airport

surfacing solution worthy of a performance trial
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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
What is Warm Mix Asphalt?
HMA is manufactured at around 160-180C
WMA is manufactured at around 130-150C
Lowers the viscosity of the binder
Temporary
Return to normal at around 100C
No change to other parameters

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Plant & Equipment for HMA

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Plant & Equipment for WMA

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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
Advantages and Benefits
Environmental
Significant CO2 reduction during manufacture
Reduced fuel burn
Compatibility with RAP allows reuse of binder/stone
Health and Safety
Reduction in fumes for workers and supervisors
Reduced odour for any nearby residents / observers

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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
Advantages and Benefits
Quality
Reduced binder aging during production
Increased binder life (based on aging over time)
Flexibility
Reduced rates of cooling
Increased haul times and distances
Rapid return to service in thick / multiple layers

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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
Common Technologies
Chemical Additives
Cecabase
Organic Additives
Sasobit
Foamed Bitumen
Astec Double Barrel Green
Two Stage Processes
Low Energy Asphalt and WAM Foam
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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
Common Technologies
COMMONLY AVAILABLE
Chemical Additives
IN AUSTRALIA
Cecabase
Organic Additives
Sasobit
Foamed Bitumen
Astec Double Barrel Green
Two Stage Processes
Low Energy Asphalt and WAM Foam
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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
Airports versus Roads

Wheel Loads (3 tonnes versus 30 tonnes per wheel)

Tyre Pressure (800 kPa versus 1600 kPa)
Asphalt surface (grooved with high binder content)
Groove closure
Slow moving
High temperature
Early life
Direct parallel to grooves
Turning
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Warm Mix Asphalt

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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
International Usage
First developed in Germany in 1990s
Europe
Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich Airports in Germany
Cambridge Airport in the UK
Defence Airfield in Norway
Northern America
Boston-Logan Airport
US Air Force Base in Alaska
Johannesburg Airport in South Africa
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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
Trans-Tasman Airport Experience
Christchurch Airport in NZ
Various taxiway and runway trials since 2008
Up to 110 mm thick patches
Barrow Island Airport (14,000 tonnes) (2012)
Overnight deep reconstruction on taxiways
Retained for much of the surface layer
Adelaide Airport Repairs (2013)
Deep patches overnight
PERCEIVED RISKS HAVE MEANT LITTLE AIRPORT USE
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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
Adelaide Airport Patches

Two by 75 mm layers and 50 mm surface

Nominal 14 mm HMA with A35P binder
Performed from 2230 to 0430
Trafficked by A330 at 0600
6-10 mm ruts after one movement
Still very warm to touch
Corrected during the day by steel drum rolling
Subsequent repairs with Double Barrel Green WMA
No reoccurrence of the rutting
No discernible difference between WMA and HMA
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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
Adelaide Airport Patches

Property

Hot Mix

Warm Mix

Specica3on

Binder Content

5.5%

5.5%

5.3 5.9%

Flow

2.2 - 2.4 mm

2.3 2.4 mm

< 3 mm

Stability

12.8 - 13.7 kN

13.4 13.9 kN

> 11.5

Voids

4.0 - 4.3%

3.7 4.1%

3 5%

Density

99.6 - 99.9%

99.4-99.6%

98%

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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
Barrow Island Airport

Deep reconstruction, correction and 50 mm surfacing

20 mm, 14 mm and 10 mm WMA and HMA
Deep reconstruction overnight and trafficked at 0700
No significant difference in Production Testing data
Moisture content well below specification limit
Relative densities almost identical
Flow and Stability indistinguishable
WMA reduced fumes and increased workability
Maintained for 14 mm surface layer
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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
Barrow Island Airport
Mixing Temperature
Hot
Warm
Specica3on (Maximum)
Mixing Temperature

Mean Moisture Content of Asphalt at Produc3on

10 mm Nominal
20 mm Nominal
0.027%
0.045%
0.031%
0.034%
0.150%
0.150%
Mean Rela3ve Density of Asphalt aMer Rolling
10 mm Nominal

20 mm Nominal

Hot
Warm

98.3%

98.1%

98.1%

98.0%

Specica3on (Minimum)

97%

97%

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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
The Future
International usage is significant although
Different binders
Different design approach (thicker asphalt)
Adelaide and Barrow Island Airports
Virtually no detectable difference in production results
Improved performance under early heaving traffic
Appropriate time for a detailed trial
Grooved surface in a turning area
Monitored (including coring) side-by-side HMA
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Warm Mix Asphalt

for Airports
Conclusions

WMA is a viable alternate to HMA for Australian Airports

Environmental, Safety, Quality and Flexibility advantages
Adelaide and Barrow Island Airports provide limited data
A grooved surface trial in a turning trafficked area
Asphalt performance testing
Medium-term coring and performance testing
Occurred 20-21 September 2013 at RAAF Amberley

Specification changes (typically 24 pages long)

Production and paving temperature limits (4)
Temperature limits for hot and warm joints (3)
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TWO MOBILE PLANTS WORKING SIMULTANEOUSLY AT BRISBANE AIRPORT 2013

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