The first Technically Speaking of the year questions how we can create longer lasting roads in New Zealand. Looking forward to reading more articles from you Michael He!
Abstract
We can simply look at how hot the road can get and how many cars go on the road. While the solution is simple, we don’t really know how hot the roads can get. In the industry, road temperatures are assumed based on air temperature, however accuracy of this method can be quite different!
What happens if we don’t know how hot the road can get? Some products are made to be more resistant under heat such as our Polymer Modified Bitumen (PMB). Standard bitumen for example - when the road gets to a high temperatures of 50-60°C, the product softens up and then cars begin to drive over it, it's comparable to honey at room temperature! The aggregate would begin to come off and the road would begin to deform.
