Evaluation of microclimate effects on surfacing seal performance
Loading...
Date
Authors
Steyn, Wynand Jacobus Van der Merwe
Briedenhann, R.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Society of Civil Engineering
Abstract
Surfacing seals consist of a combination of bitumen and aggregate, and are used to provide
an all-weather surfacing to protect underlying layers and provide safe access to vehicles
traveling on a road. Analysis of a number of sections in Gauteng, South Africa, has shown
that surfacing seals lost a large proportion of their aggregate where the road was crossed by a
bridge. As all original properties of the seal components as well as the traffic on the road
were similar, it was deduced that the micro-climate where the road traveled underneath the
bridge should have caused this localized failure condition. In this paper the phenomenon is
investigated through analysis of the micro-climate underneath the bridge, the material
properties of the surfacing seal, and the combined effect of these factors on the performance
of the seal. It is shown that the micro-climate can affect the performance of an otherwise
suitable surfacing seal to such an extent that the performance of the seal is severely
compromised. A procedure for the analysis of potential micro-climate effects is described in
the paper.
Description
Keywords
Surfacing seals, Micro-climate, Aggregate loss
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Steyn, WJ & Briedenhann, R 2012, 'Evaluation of microclimate effects on surfacing seal performance', Journal of Preformance of Constructed Facilities, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 138-144.