FORTA-FI: Making a Difference

Scott Nazar (3rd from right), posing with other GACofPA volunteers.

The Technical Manager of FORTA-FI, Scott Nazar, volunteered his time by stepping outside the world of fiber reinforcement to participate in a litter pick-up day, which supported the Great American Clean-up of Pennsylvania program. The pick-up was held on April 30, 2016, near Interstate 81 in Dauphin County.

Nazar has been involved with this project for about 10 years and he has even volunteered alongside his daughters. Nazar said, "At the end of the day, the roadsides look so much better and it's great to make a positive difference in the world." 

The event was organized by Greg Penny, Community Relations Coordinator for PennDOT District 8, and was joined by members of the community, as well as the Deputy Secretary for Highway Administration. For more than 25 years, Penny has been organizing litter pick-up days. Penny focuses his efforts in Dauphin County around Lower Paxton and Susquehanna Townships.

Roadway maintenance does not stop at just repairing potholes; it goes beyond. Join us as we keep the roadways clean by disposing of trash correctly. If you would like to participate in a Great American Clean-up of Pennsylvania event, please go to www.gacofpa.org to find a group near you. The program runs until the end of May. 

For more information about FORTA-FI, please go to www.forta-fi.com

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