Asphalt Sustainability

To put a slightly finer point on last weeks blog  What's So 'Green' About Longer-Lasting Asphalt?;  this weeks blog discusses lessening of CO2 emissions when using longer lasting or thinner pavements.  In 2009, Dr Kamil Kaloush, Associate Professor, Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering and Director of the National Center for Excellence SMART at Arizona State University developed the following formula:

Where,

T = thickness of pavement layer, meters

W = width of road, meters

Dn = density of pavement material, kg/m³

Pn = material production value, kg CO2 Eq. /kg 

Mn = material mixing value, kg CO2 Eq.  /kg 

Di = distance from material production site to application site, km

Tp = transport from production site to application site value, kg CO2 Eq.  /kg material-km

Y = road life, years

This equation quantifies the change in emitted CO2 when placing asphalt.  FORTA-FI® the revolutionary, high tensile strength, asphalt reinforcement fiber from FORTA Corporation is the perfect product to demonstrate the utility of this equation.  Tested time and again, FORTA-FI® has shown that this aramid based fiber can either increase the pavement life of a highway or airport by up to 50% (Y) or allow for the placement of the asphalt up to 35% thinner (Dn).  Both of these benefits of FORTA-FI® decrease CO2 emissions because of the lesser amount of product, manpower and energy required to build roads and airports.  Manipulating these two variables will allow us to see how much CO2 emission can be avoided by using FORTA-FI®. 

For more information, please visit: www.forta-fi.com

What's So 'Green' About Longer-Lasting Asphalt?

With the increase in sustainable building projects, more attention is being paid to the environmental impact of the materials being used for construction.  Steel, concrete, wood, and non-ferrous metals are all used to create intelligently designed and energy efficient homes, offices, schools and health care facilities.  'Green' building encompasses the entire project, so engineers and architects pay close attention to the built environment outside of the building shell too.   

When the right material for the job is asphalt, consider fiber-reinforcing it with FORTA-FI® high-tensile strength fiber.  Access roads, parking lots, walking/biking trails, and any asphalt installation at a building site can be three-dimensionally reinforced with FORTA-FI®.  Looking to use a porous asphalt or standard mix design for a parking lot? Think FORTA-FI®!  Want a rich, fibrous asphalt mix for an aggregate-base trail?  FORTA-FI® it!  If you want a strong roadway that will give you years of dependable service, consider FORTA-FI® fiber for each pavement section to help resist premature cracking.  It's easy to add FORTA-FI® at the production plant, and no modifications to standard paving practices are necessary at the installation site!  Best of all, only one pound of FORTA-FI® fiber is required to reinforce one ton of asphalt mix! Please visit: www.forta-fi.com for more information.   

So how is longer-lasting asphalt paving material ‘green’?  Think about the service life of an asphalt installation.  Maintaining quality asphalt with patching, crack sealing, and surface treatments are standard procedures for keeping pavements safe and looking good.  These maintenance techniques are still possible when you use a fiber-reinforced asphalt mix to extend the time period before a major milling and resurfacing effort is required.  Lengthening the service life of an asphalt construction project not only saves money for the owner, it is good for the environment in terms of replacement material and production requirements, as well as manpower and equipment needs.  Better performing asphalt needs less overall maintenance and can significantly extend the time period before resurfacing/replacement is needed!

For more about asphalt and the environment, check out the Asphalt Pavement Alliance (www.AsphaltRoads.org), which has information on their website about sustainable pavements and the carbon footprint of asphalt.   Also, the National Asphalt Pavement Association (www.asphaltpavement.org) is a great resource for the latest news on asphalt paving technology and education.

Warning: Pothole Season Ahead

Winter is just around the corner, and with the annual freeze-thaw cycle comes everybody's least favorite time of year…pothole season!  Your hometown newspaper will write about them, and the local television station will do 'on the scene' reports showing them, but why doesn't someone come up with a better way to fight these pesky potholes?  Is there anything that state and local governments can do to try to win this war against unsightly and possibly dangerous pavement blow-outs?

FORTA Corporation's high tensile strength fiber for asphalt three-dimensionally reinforces hot-mix, warm-mix, and patching pavement mixes.  If your roadway, parking lot, or driveway weren't fiber-reinforced during their initial construction, consider using FORTA-FI PAT® fibers for your pothole and utility patch repairs.  When used in properly cleaned and prepared repair sections, the polyolefin/aramid blend of fibers provides added strength and durability to help keep asphalt mix in the hole…where it belongs.  Repeatedly filling the same hole over and over again throughout the winter is frustrating and dangerous for road maintenance crews.  There are plenty of things on the "to do" list during snow season, so fix pop-outs right the first time! 

  

The PAT blend of FORTA-FI® is added to material at the asphalt production plant, at the rate of 1 pound of fiber per 1 ton of asphalt.  Producers can now offer their customers a better patching product.  FORTA-FI PAT® fibers can be used in either hot or cold patch mixes, providing a "Patch Plus Fiber" application to Old Man Winter's favorite calling card, the dreaded pothole!

Go Stronger…Go Longer with FORTA-FI® high-tensile strength fiber for asphalt!

For more information, please visit: www.forta-fi.com

Meet the Asphalt Team-Domestic Fiber Technician

Jarrod Russell is the Domestic Fiber Technician for the Asphalt Division.  Jarrod will help in setting up the fiber feeders for asphalt paving projects.  He also can provide assistance at the project site with trouble shooting and technical support on methods to add fibers to the asphalt mixture. Jarrod also provides training support on the fiber feeders.

Please check out our prior blog on fiber feeders:

 http://fortaforasphalt.blogspot.com/2015_04_01_archive.html

For more answers to your fiber feeder technical questions please call Jarrod at 1-800-245-0306 ext 146.

Meet the Asphalt Team - International Business Manager

David Huddleston is the International Business Manager for the Asphalt Division.  David oversees sales and marketing efforts of the FORTA-FI® international distributors.  David has been actively working with and servicing FORTA Corporation's international distribution network.  He has logged over 135,000 miles of travel for 2015.

David has an extensive background in marketing and international business.  For much of the last 25 years he has been active in these fields.  He has worked in a number of different countries on 5 continents.  Prior to joining the Asphalt Division at FORTA Corporation, David instructed economics and international business at Slippery Rock and Clarion Universities and Thiel College.

David will be attending these upcoming 2015 trade shows:

• Con-Expo Latin America 2015
• IRF Asian Regional Conference 2015
• IRF Middle East Regional Conference 2015

For More Information, Please Visit: www.forta-fi.com

Meet the Asphalt Team-Southeast Territory Manager

Meet Charlie Miller, Southeast Regional Manager for the Asphalt Division.  Charlie started his career in the asphalt industry in 1991.  Throughout Charlie’s career, he has tested polymers in asphalt.  Over the years he has expanded his career as a Regional Sales Manager in the United States and Canada selling polymers for both hot-mix and asphalt emulsion.  Charlie’s 23 years experience brings a wealth of knowledge to promote Forta-Fi® high-tensile strength synthetic fibers to the asphalt industry. 

Charlie has been an active participant in many associations:

• Asphalt Institute
• Texas Asphalt Pavement Association 
• Southeastern Asphalt User/Producer Group
• Asphalt Emulsion Manufacturers Association (AEMA)
• Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association
• Southeast Pavement Preservation Partnership
• Georgia Asphalt and Paving Association

Charlie will be participating in SEAUPG Annual Meeting & Exhibits 2015 on November 19th in Williamsburg, VA.  Please stop by and visit his table to learn more about how high-tensile strength fibers can increase the durability of roadways and how fibers can provide three-dimensional reinforcement in asphalt.

If you are interested in learning more about how Fortafied asphalt can benefit your next roadway project in the Southeast, please contact Charlie Miller at 1-800-245-0306.

For more information, please visit: www.forta-fi.com

Meet the Asphalt Team-Technical Expertise

Meet Scott Nazar, Technical Manager for Forta Corporation Asphalt Division.  Scott leads and manages the asphalt team in developing, testing and marketing FORTA-FI® fibers for the use by agencies, municipalities and state asphalt pavement projects.

Scott brings 18 years of experience in transportation, quality control, and civil engineering. He has shared his expertise in state of the art knowledge of asphalt pavement in regard to construction management and highway transportation. His prior positions as Section Chief for Materials Innovation Management for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Scott brings valuable experience to Forta Corporation Asphalt Division.

If you are interested in learning more about Fortafied asphalt to build tougher, safer and more fiscally responsible roadways please contact Scott Nazar at 1-800-245-0306.

For More Information, Please Visit: www.forta-fi.com

Catching Up On Street Paving And Maintenance With FORTA-FI®

When choosing to use a FORTA-FI® high-tensile strength fiber for asphalt mix, city engineers, city administrators and road superintendents have specific reasons for opting for a fiber-reinforced pavement design.  Over the past four years an increasing number of municipalities have included FORTA-FI® HMA and WMA fibers as a part of their yearly paving programs.  

The decision to use the three dimensional advantages of fiber may be due to concerns with a particular problem roadway, which failed to live up to its predicted design life with a traditional mix.  Sometimes FORTA-FI® is specified to add strength to thinner overlay sections, in mill-and fill projects ranging from 2 1/2” - 1” (or even thinner ultra-thin placements).  Cities and towns have increased the number of streets that can be rehabilitated each year by milling-off less asphalt on the roadway and replacing the surface section with a FORTA-FI® fiber overlay.  

This allows them to get a new fiber-reinforced driving surface on more streets annually, while gradually decreasing the annual backlog of ‘past due’ paving projects.  Our patented aramid/polyolefin fiber blend can also help the durability of mixes used for roadway and parking lot patching in pot hole and utility maintenance situations, and FORTA-FI® PAT can be added to cold patch or hot patch asphalt to help ensure a successful repair.

FORTA-FI® fiber is added at the asphalt production facility at the simple dosage rate of 1 pound per 1 ton of asphalt.  It is a simple process to make a fiber-reinforced mix in both batch and drum plants by using the 1 pound bags of FORTA-FI® HMA-WMA-PAT fibers.  Manually adding the fiber is a great option for smaller roadway, parking lot, and trail paving jobs, and automated fiber-feeding equipment is available for larger projects that require more fiber-reinforced asphalt mix.  Since FORTA-FI® has been used in hundreds of asphalt applications throughout the country, your local asphalt producer may have already be familiar with the product or possibly used it in a project in your area.

For more information, please visit: www.forta-fi.com

FORTAfied® Lunch and Learns

Forta-Fi® was recenting used in a state roadway project. The 70-22, 4.75mm, 3/4" thinlay comparing traditional mix vs. FORTAfied® mix. Compaction on non-reinforced asphalt after the first roller, 88-89. Compaction on the FORTAfied® mix after the first roller, 90-91.

Hungry for more information?  Schedule a lunch seminar to learn about how using asphalt fibers in your next project can reduce processing, reduce labor, reduce time and reduce logistics thereby, translating to reduced project costs.

FORTA Corporation will provide a review of 30+ years of research on FORTA-FI ®.  The seminar will provide information on testing that has been completed at University, Private Sector and International Levels.  Additional information will be provided on asphalt reduction and adding longevity to projects.

FORTAfied ® asphalt is strong asphalt, and builds tougher roads.  Today, more than ever, using time and material resources responsibly is everyone’s goal.  FORTA-FI® is capable of reinforcing all asphalt mixtures allowing for either less asphalt or longer asphalt life. 

Please contact 1-800-245-0306 ext 127 to schedule your next educational seminar.

For more information, please visit: www.forta-fi.com

Asphalt Fiber Testing: Cost Effective Quality Roadways

Many State Department of Transportations (DOT) are looking for more cost effective pavement materials without compromising the quality of the pavement life-cycle, as well as extending the life-cycle of the pavement. State DOTs look at testing to determine if pavement materials meet the criteria to be approved for usage in their roadways. The National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) researches asphalt products in areas of structural design, construction methods, materials and testing, performance, pavement preservation, pavement rehabilitation and highway safety.

In July of 2012, NCAT conducted a field study on accelerated performance testing (APT) and FORTA-FI^® which was placed on section E9B-1. The NCAT testing track sponsored a two-year cycle where trafficking was applied by using a fleet of heavily loaded tractor-trailer rigs to provide the equivalent of 10 million; 18,000-pound single-axle loads (EASLs). NCAT also applied a design lifetime of truck traffic averaging ten to fifteen years within the two-year period.

Each rig in the five-truck fleet ran an average of 680 miles per day in order to achieve a real world traffic simulation. During the trafficking phase, performance of the test sections were studied and FORTA-FI® has passed with flying colors. Stay tuned as the Alabama DOT is planning on leaving FORTA®’s test section in place for another 10 million EASLs to further study the benefits of utilizing FORTA-FI® in the asphalt mix.

FORTA-FI® Reinforcement for Parking Lots

Parking lot construction and maintenance costs are a critical cost center for property owners. These surfaces do more than just provide employees and patrons a place to park their cars and trucks, they are also an access point to and from retail, residential and office building structures.  Parking lot surfaces need to be a safe place for cars, trucks, and especially pedestrian traffic to enter and exit properties. Cracking, rutting, heaving and potholes are asphalt material issues that are not just unsightly, they can be hazardous to both foot and vehicle traffic!

FORTA-FI® high-tensile strength fiber can help to extend the service life of parking lots by providing three-dimensional fiber reinforcement to the asphalt mix.  Millions of aramid fibers distributed throughout the pavement function to help keep cracks from forming, and once they do occur (as the asphalt binder becomes more brittle through weathering and age) the fibers can assist in keeping them from spreading.  When used in the base, intermediate and/or surface course of the parking lot, the FORTA-FI® fiber effect works to prolong the usable life of the fiber-reinforced asphalt layer. Additionally, routine maintenance treatments like surface and crack sealing can be performed as usual to keep the parking lot in good condition.

FORTA-FI® fiber will not fix poor base, moisture or structural issues that have previously caused parking areas to prematurely fail.  These types of problems need to be addressed prior to any type of asphalt placement.  However, fiber-reinforcing your asphalt mix with FORTA-FI® can make a good paving project perform even better over time!  Consider specifying FORTA-FI® fiber for your next parking lot, and see how Going Longer...Going Stronger with fiber can help extend the service life of asphalt placements!

For more information, please visit: www.forta-fi.com

In the news: Asphalt Fibers Being Tested to Prevent Potholes in Pennsylvania

Please view the video on a recent news report from March 2015 on Forta-Fi®.  PennDOT has been testing Forta-Fi® asphalt fibers in Bucks County for prevention of potholes.

For more information, please visit: www.forta-fi.com

ADDING FORTA-FI® FIBERS AT THE PRODUCTION PLANT

It’s nothing new, asphalt producers are routinely being asked to incorporate newly developed mix additives and liquid modifications into their production methods. Warm mix foaming systems, waxes, crumb rubber, recycled shingles, RAP, fractionalized recycled material and synthetic fibers are used every day around the globe in an attempt to help maximize asphalt performance. FORTA Corporation has developed a variety of ways to introduce their high-tensile strength fiber, FORTA-FI®, into both drum and batch plants during the production process.

FORTA-FI® fiber can be packaged in easy-to-use one pound (1 lb.) plastic bags, and added directly ‘by-the-bag’ into a batch plant, pug mill or at the drum plant through the RAP collar. The dosage rate for the fiber is 1 pound per 1 ton of asphalt mix, (with no change to the job mix formula) which makes calculating the amount of FORTA-FI® being added simple and easy to track over the course of production.

Manually adding the fiber is a great way to fiber-reinforce smaller jobs like driveways, parking lots, traffic signal intersections and repair sections. Fiber may be dosed by-hand into batch plants using compressed air systems, such as the Big Shot® feeder. The Big Shot is easily installed, using 8-inch, schedule 40 PVC. This fiber transport system was designed with toughness in mind, using the most rugged and efficient materials. Most importantly the Big Shot was designed to improve safety while adding fibers into your Asphalt plant. This transport system uses air (requiring 95 psi and 25 cfm) to easily deliver your 1 lb. fibers into your RAP collar.

The “Little Shot” compressed air system may also be used to manually introduce loose fiber directly into the drum plant. The “Little Shot” uses air  (w/95 psi air pressure) to deliver fiber in 1 lb. increments into the RAP collar or external pug mill. Rigid PVC pipe or flexible tubing may be used to move the fiber vertically from the ground into the production plant.

Specially designed mobile automated systems produced by Hi-Tech Asphalt Solutions are used to inject fiber into drum plants for larger production runs. These computer controlled feeders use plant electric power and their own internal air system to effectively dose accurate amounts of fiber for larger tonnage FORTA-FI® projects. The operator controls the fiber introduction rate remotely so it feeds at the correct plant production speed, and these rates are recorded on an SD card to capture the data. In most cases, modifications to the asphalt plant are not required for the use of these heavy-duty feeding units, which can be set-up and moved around with ease at the production facility.

While no two asphalt plants are exactly the same, most producers can deliver fiber-reinforced asphalt to the job site with just a few tweaks to their operation. FORTA Corporation has been involved in hundreds of FORTA-FI® projects around the world, and we will work with asphalt mix designers, producers, and pavers to help them deliver a quality fiber-reinforced placement to their valued customers.

"Little Shot"

For more information, please visit: www.forta-fi.com