The construction of a new road – whether from asphalt or concrete – requires the production of an excellently bonded pavement structure, beginning with a stable base layer and going all the way to a precisely levelled surface course.
What are the most important criteria to be considered? What methods need to be applied? What machines used?
Construction of Base Layers
The base layer of a road lays the foundation for the upper pavement structure. It must offer excellent bearing capacity, be capable of withstanding a broad range of different climatic conditions, and remain functional over several decades. What materials are used for the construction of base layers? What properties do they need to possess?
The base course serves as a foundation for the paving. Depending on the stresses to be expected, the road comprises various layers of different thickness in order to withstand the most diverse weather conditions and remain serviceable for many decades …
Asphalt Paving
Asphalt paving requires an exceptionally high degree of meticulous logistical planning and management. Care needs to be taken that sufficient quantities of mix are available on site all the time, and that the mix will not cool down prematurely. What types of machines are used for asphalt paving? What is the sequence of operations?
Paving asphalt requires outstanding logistics. Care must always be taken to ensure that sufficient mix is available and that the material does not cool.
Asphalt Compactation
Compaction is the final procedure in road construction, its goal being to produce a surface texture of high quality. What aspects need to be considered in asphalt compaction? When compacting an asphalt road, what impact will the road’s location or ambient temperatures have on the compacting operation?
Compaction of the asphalt pavement should yield a uniform surface with the greatest possible skid resistance and ensure that the individual asphalt courses are firmly and durably interlinked to produce high stability and wear resistance, as well as enduring evenness. Rollers or compactors reduce the number of voids. This makes the asphalt more resistant to stress and extends its durability
Inset concrete paving
Concrete is a particularly durable material and eminently suitable for roads which have to withstand high loads.
Slipform paving is a standard method that is primarily used to pave large roads and runways using inset technology
Offset concrete paving
Instead of placing pre-fabricated concrete parts in a manual operation, the required profiles can also be produced by slipform pavers in offset application. What applications can offset concrete paving be used for? What are the advantages of slipform paving when compared to manual construction?
Edgings, protective barriers on the central reservation of motorways, gulleys to drain water – concrete can be moulded into many shapes. Such concrete profiles can be produced simply and economically using offset slipforming technology