What is hot asphalt, its features and areas of use

Innovation in the asphalt paving process involves the use of new technologies and geosynthetics. You can purchase them from our company GeoSM, which specializes in the production and sale of these materials in the entire range at the best prices.

Our asphalt paving materials are developed using a unique, patented technology.

You can learn about innovations in the asphalt laying process in this article.

GeoSM Group produces and sells geotextiles , road geogrids , as well as geogrids for asphalting roads. We guarantee that all materials comply with road construction technology and meet the requirements of regulatory organizations and national standards. Choosing to purchase geosynthetic materials from the manufacturer directly from its own warehouse is a guarantee of their low cost and fast delivery to the site.

Geoflax geogrid for asphalt

Geogrid serves to improve performance and reduce construction and repair costs by 45%. It has high strength and resistance to deformation.

Buy Geogrid Geoflax

In modern conditions, a significant improvement in the quality and increase in the service life of materials for laying asphalt is required. We are well aware that to ensure the reliability of asphalt, it is necessary to be guided by all the needs of the industry, existing standards, and customer requirements.

With GeoSM materials, road construction is significantly accelerated and their service life increases. The use of GeoSM geosynthetics is recommended by professionals.

What is asphalt made of?

Before talking about installation, you need to understand what the asphalt pavement consists of. Asphalt is a mixture of bitumen with bulk materials: sand, crushed stone or gravel. Depending on the purpose of the road surface, the percentage of components may vary. For example, there is no point in using crushed stone for a parking area near a house, since it can withstand high pressure, which is necessary for covering public roads and highways. For ordinary paths and car areas, it is recommended to use up to 10% crushed stone due to the absence of a large load on the coating.

Bitumen

Bitumen refers to tar-like products that are obtained as a result of oil refining. It is a binding component of the asphalt mixture. The amount varies from 2 to 11% depending on the purpose of the road surface. The higher the load, the more bitumen is contained in the asphalt.

Sand

Sand acts as a fine filler and allows you to evenly distribute the external load on the canvas. When preparing asphalt, only clean sand is used, since the final strength of the asphalt depends on this.

Crushed stone or gravel

As mentioned above, crushed stone is used to increase the strength of asphalt to external loads. If you plan to move equipment over 5 tons around the site, for example, when organizing the access of trucks to a construction site, then the presence of crushed stone up to 15 mm in the asphalt is a necessary condition. This asphalt will cope well with high tire pressure.

Asphalt for pedestrian paths uses gravel up to 3-5 mm, which is an excellent shock absorber and filler.

About landscaping

Any coating has its advantages and disadvantages. Asphalt is no exception. Its advantage can be considered the ability to use specialized equipment during the installation process. Note that building concrete, for example, is laid only by hand, which is incredibly difficult.

The main disadvantage of this artificial material is its strong odor. And all because the mixture contains bitumen, which under the influence of high temperatures begins to smell strongly. This causes some discomfort.

If we talk about asphalt paving, this process is quite complex. It requires strict adherence to technology. Please note that for each individual installation stage there are specific standards. If all the rules are followed, the finished coating will last for many years. It is also worth adding that a variety of techniques and equipment are used in the installation process. Therefore, it is not enough to simply attract experienced specialists and study the technology in detail. You also need to have a license confirming that the company has the right to provide the relevant services.

In addition, the contractor must know how to correctly calculate the thickness of the future coating, how to mark it, and carry out all the necessary work. He is also obliged to guarantee quality. This is very important, because each of us knows perfectly well how much domestic companies like to save on this process. As a result, the road surface crumbles in just one season.

Road sealing

Compliance with technological standards when compacting the hot mixture ensures the durability of the asphalt pavement. To perform the work correctly, the use of special equipment or tools is required. Asphalt pavers and powerful heavy road rollers are commonly used.

There are preliminary compaction, rolling stage, main compaction of asphalt concrete mixtures and final rolling of asphalt with rollers. The quality of compaction is determined by the asphalt compaction coefficient. The coefficient shows the ratio of the actual and standard coating density.

Demanded properties of hot mix asphalt concrete

Any asphalt pavement made from an asphalt concrete mixture (ABS) contains a set of consumer properties that distinguish the building material from concrete pavements or paving slabs:

• smooth surface and no joints;
• acceptable elasticity and load-bearing capacity of the canvas;
• ability to withstand shifts when braking vehicles;
• the possibility of recycling the material into raw materials and using it in a new coating;
• maintainability of long sections of the road.

Despite the disadvantage of maintaining a high material temperature of +120? C, hot asphalt paving has a number of competitive advantages compared to cold asphalt paving:

• hot cast road asphalt concrete has exceptional adhesive properties, firmly connecting to the base;
• due to the high temperature of the ABS mixture, patching is carried out at sub-zero temperatures or precipitation;
• allows you to achieve high density of hot asphalt using a roller or vibration equipment;
• the cost of 1 ton of hot asphalt concrete is several times less than a cold mixture with identical weight.

Don't make a mistake in choosing a profession

An important step in every person’s life is choosing a future profession. When entering adult life after graduating from school, you should not rely on such concepts as “company” or walking distance to an educational institution.

A clear understanding that the right choice of profession will determine your entire future fate, employment and the ability to provide for yourself and your family financially in the future serves as the basis for decision-making.

Try to avoid such tautologies as shown above. And below you need to remove all these lines, and make normal bulleted or numbered lists, for which there are corresponding buttons on the toolbar

There are 3 concepts of a correctly made decision:

• “I want” when the profession is interesting, I like it, there is a desire to gain knowledge and master skills;
• “I can” when a person has the “professional qualities” necessary for a given profession.

For example, asphalt concrete layers must be physically resilient, proofreaders must be attentive and competent, artists must have imaginative thinking and talent:

• “must” when it is necessary to study the needs of the chosen profession in the labor market.

The video in this article will help in carrying out certain analytical work when familiarizing yourself with the list of in-demand specialties and professions.

The criteria for choosing a job were and remain relevant today:

• wage level;
• career opportunities;
• working conditions.

Therefore, employers interested in friendly, young teams should create jobs that are attractive to young people, thereby motivating the choice of working professions and filling vacancies.

Attention: In the criteria for choosing the right job, you can add the concepts of “official employment” and “white wages”.

This is very important for young people who are officially employed and pay income tax on their salaries. When purchasing a home using a mortgage, he has the right to get back an income tax amount of 13% of the value of the residential property.

Asphalt and concrete in process technology

Asphalt concrete is used for the construction of highways, although proper preparation of the material makes it possible to pave small areas.

The mixture is obtained after mixing mineral fillers and road and petroleum bitumen. All useful characteristics are achieved after asphalt concrete is laid, compacted and cooled.

The job description of an asphalt concrete cooker obliges the applicant to acquire knowledge:

• According to the requirements for asphalt concrete pavements;
• To coatings, bases and wear layers made of sand components, gravel (crushed stone), treated with organic binders;
• Have an understanding of the rules and schemes for compacting asphalt mixtures and coatings that are subject to treatment with black binders;
• About the temperature conditions for laying material and sealing mixtures treated with black binders;
• On the rules for constructing improved coatings;
• On methods of using asphalt concrete mixtures with surfactant ingredients;
• An asphalt concrete worker, whose responsibilities are not limited to the above requirements, must know how to connect strips, manholes, gratings, and tram tracks;
• A method for marking a base of complex configuration for asphalt pavement or coating with material treated with black binder;
• Techniques for obtaining rough surfaces on asphalt pavement.

Attention: The asphalt paver rolls a strip 3.5 m wide, and the temperature of the mixture should not be less than 120ᵒC

• Road builders note difficult working conditions in the hot season, when the hot asphalt concrete mixture reaches 160°C.
• In the heat, workers dream that the asphalt concrete worker’s workwear would consist of special shoes that protect the feet, a T-shirt and overalls made of natural materials that absorb sweat and allow air to pass through well so that the whole body can breathe.

Laying asphalt is not an easy task, the work is noisy and hard. In Russia, in the construction of roads, outdated technology of asphalt concrete pavements is still used. Roads are constantly in need of repair, but pothole repair helps. The potholes and roads are dirty again, like new, the main thing is that funds are allocated for this matter.

The USA, Europe, China are building concrete roads - i.e. concrete slabs are tied together with steel cables and poured with concrete mortar on top. Expensive, but very durable coatings that last for 34 years without repair.

The price of the issue is calculated in an elementary way, but why? Construction of roads in Russia costs 4 times more than in the USA, 8 times more than in China, but in terms of quality they rank 124th in the world. It's called: we've arrived.

Today in Russia there are only 2% of concrete roads, so the duties of an asphalt concrete worker have to be performed by the second half of humanity. True, this profession is not available and is included in the “List” prohibited for women, but with a reservation. The postscript reads, “engaged in manual work,” i.e. Women can work with machinery.

The technological process of laying asphalt concrete pavement is a symbiosis of mechanisms and people, where everyone has their own job responsibilities: asphalt concrete worker, motor grader operator, motor roller operator, etc.

Before starting work, the serviceability of all mechanisms and machines is checked. Drivers and road builders are provided with special clothing and available equipment.

Ideally, the entire technological process fits into several points:

• The old asphalt is cut off and the soil is rolled;
• The first layer 20 cm thick is poured, the first layer is rolled;
• The second (leveling) layer should be 10 cm, the second one is rolled;
• Glue is applied and the last third layer is laid, sprinkled on top so that it does not differ in color from the old one.

The German road construction technology is presented here, when laying a kilometer in 3 layers takes approximately a week. In the recent past, foreign specialists were pleasantly surprised by our pace of road construction. Laying asphalt concrete per work shift was measured not in meters, but in kilometers.

When there is something to work for

Road construction has its own subtleties and nuances. You can often hear the phrase: “they pretend that they pay, we pretend that we work.”

What is the situation with wages for an asphalt concrete paver: the harmful factors for which his profession is included in the “List” for preferential pension coverage are visible even to non-specialists.

Average salary of an asphalt concrete worker in Russia:

Period	Amount, rubles	Index	Personnel requirement %	Region of Russia
2015	35500	0,946	29,6	Moscow region
2016	23500	0,662	25,6	Krasnodar region
2017	30500	1,298	6,4	Leningrad region

The salary of an asphalt concrete worker, taken on average for the country, is like the average temperature in a hospital. One person’s temperature is below 40ᵒ, the other is cooling down, and on average, everyone has a normal temperature of 36.6ᵒ.

The table shows that the largest number of jobs has been opened in the Moscow region. A welder and asphalt concrete layer are invited to fill available vacancies for decent money, and not only in the Moscow region; the closer to the North, the more they pay.

The rate of road commissioning is about 2 thousand km. per year, which is 8 times lower than the rate of the 80s in the RSFSR

However, behind the dry statistical figures hides the hard work of road construction workers.

VETKS asphalt concrete paver operator is charged from 6 to 8 categories. This is a very high qualification for a worker, which has always been well paid.

What types exist

Currently, only two types of coatings are used:

• Asphalt.
• Tar.

Regarding the laying temperature, asphalt compositions are divided into two types:

1. Hot type coatings. They are laid at temperatures above 140 degrees. This requires special equipment. Hot asphalt pavement is highly durable, so it is used for laying roads, city streets and squares.
2. Cold asphalt. This type of mixture is also called warm, and it is prepared using bitumen, which has a reduced viscosity. Cold material is laid at a temperature of 80 to 120 degrees. Asphalt coatings of this kind are most often used in courtyards, playgrounds, sidewalks and other places that are not subject to heavy loads.

Features of the component composition of asphalt

The composition of the component base of hot asphalt makes it possible to obtain a smooth and load-resistant asphalt surface. The formulation of modern asphalt concrete does not contain tar, which is no longer used.

By the way! The use of tar as a binder was discontinued due to its high cost, as a result of which the production of an analogue of AB, called tar concrete, on an industrial scale turned out to be unprofitable.

Hot cast road asphalt concrete (GOST R 54401-2011) is a shiny resinous mass with screenings of crushed mineral rocks and sand. These granular inclusions are visible in the structure of the building material. 85% of it consists of a mixture of crushed stone, sand and mineral powder (filler).

Only 15% of the mass of the ingredients is the binder bitumen. AB is synthesized artificially and differs from its natural counterpart. In mountain asphalt, the weight fraction of bitumen and resinous substances reaches 60–75%, which is why the word “asphalt” is translated from Greek as “mountain resin.”

The composition of the composite may include crumb rubber or polymer additives that improve the adhesive and hydrophobic properties of asphalt concrete.

Important! AB is usually black or black-brown in color. With the help of pigment powders and coloring preparations, “gloomy” colors can easily be changed to brighter colors, which makes the asphalt concrete coating of playgrounds, park paths and pedestrian areas more attractive.

The following substances are used as additives for coloring the surface layer of asphalt:

Additive name	Chromium oxide	Iron minium	Lead minium	Crown yellow	Whitewash
Asphalt color	green	red-brown	red-orange	yellow	white

They are present in specially produced colored synthetic bitumen or added to the hot mixture during the mixing stage of the ingredients.

Hot asphalt laying technology

For hot laying of asphalt, you will need the following materials and tools: a metal barrel, an ax, a shovel, a mop, a manual roller weighing 100-120 kg or a vibrating plate, a hand rammer, bitumen, sand, crushed stone or gravel.

1. Asphalt must be laid in dry weather. The surface for installation must be prepared in advance. The top layer of earth needs to be removed, about 4-5 cm. In its place, pour and compact first a layer of sand, then fine-grained crushed stone to create a stable cushion.
2. Next, you need to melt the bitumen by placing a metal barrel on a stone base in which the fire will burn. The bitumen needs to be chopped into pieces with an axe. The smaller the pieces, the faster they will melt. It is best to mix with an old shovel, since after laying the asphalt it will become unusable. It is best to carry out all work directly near the laying site so that the asphalt does not have time to cool down during transportation.
3. When the bitumen melts and boils, you need to start adding sand and gravel. You need to add it gradually, then it will be easier to mix this mixture.
4. Then, using a shovel, you need to start spreading the mixture onto the prepared surface. A shovel is perfect for these purposes. To level the asphalt layer, you need to use a wooden mop. To increase the plane of contact, you can nail a board to it.
5. After leveling, you need to use a manual roller for compacting. The drum must be moistened with water! If you don’t have a roller, you can use a vibrating plate or a hand tamper. After finishing the work, the coating must be allowed to sit for at least 6 hours.

The result is a durable coating that can easily withstand a passenger car.

The process of preparing the composition

The technology for preparing hot cast road asphalt concrete is as follows:

1. Sand and crushed stone, instead of which gravel is suitable, are supplied in certain weight fractions along a conveyor belt into a common receiver.

2. Bitumen and mineral powder are added to the heated bunker while constantly mixing the aggregates, and the temperature of the composite is brought to +160? C.
3. After the solution has reached the required thickness, the composition is placed in a special container in which the ABS is stored in compliance with the appropriate thermal conditions. No later than four days the mixture is delivered to the site.

Applying markings and signs

Applying lines and marks with thermoplastic or paint will mark the asphalt surface and indicate any necessary warnings. For example, on the site in front of the house you need to mark out parking spaces for cars. Or put a warning sign about the danger for drivers. Thermoplastic is most suitable for these purposes since it is wear-resistant, has good adhesion to asphalt and has a long service life. Thermoplastic must be applied using special equipment, since it is necessary to constantly maintain a high temperature in the boiler and thoroughly mix the plastic mass.

If it is not possible to use specialized equipment, then the following recommendations must be followed:

1. The asphalt surface must be dry and clean, then the plastic will adhere securely to the surface.
2. The melting point of plastic is in the range from 140 to 180 ºС. After the plastic has melted, it must be constantly stirred to avoid the appearance of clots.
3. To apply thermoplastic, you need to use ready-made molds that will allow the plastic mass to harden on the asphalt.
4. The cooling time of thermoplastic is only a few minutes.

We looked at two methods of laying asphalt, thanks to which you can obtain a high-quality and durable coating. The first method is beneficial when paving large areas. And the second is for arranging a household plot. In any case, a properly laid asphalt pavement will withstand heavy loads and will last a very long time.

Table with the purposes of asphalt compositions

Type of asphalt composition	Purpose
Sandy asphalt mixture	For small loads that do not involve vehicle traffic
Gravel mixture or crushed stone asphalt	For medium and heavy loads. At the moment it is more often replaced by crushed stone-mastic asphalt
Crushed stone-mastic asphalt mixture	For serious and high loads

Crushed stone-mastic hot asphalt is considered one of the best options, therefore it is used in the construction of highways with high loads. Rocks create a strong frame for the road surface, minimizing possible deformation. Also, this type of asphalt concrete includes fiber additives for stabilization, which helps the bitumen not to spread. In addition, hot asphalt on a crushed stone-mastic basis has a longer service life, in comparison with other compositions, under equal conditions.