Gilsonite Construction Grade
Gilsonite Construction Grade use in Asphalt and Pavement
Bitumen Modifier “Gilsonite Construction Grade” in Road industry
Bitumen Modifier “Gilsonite”, along with natural asphalt, can be used as an amplifier and hardener for bitumen. It also provides a unique combination of high efficiency and economy for high-stress road paving, and for preservation purposes. A significant advantage is the creation of Gilsonite road mixes with higher stability than that of conventional ones.
Various properties of asphalt are adjusted to obtain a product with the appropriate performance in terms of wear, potholes resistance, resistance to cracking from fatigue and low temperatures, bond strength, viscosity and yield point. Resistance to potholes is the resistance to longitudinal surface subsidence in the wheel paths. Adhesive power is the maximum binding power of the compactor at the joining locations, including, but not limited to, the adhesive power between the filler and the binder. Impulse resistance is a resistance to direct longitudinal displacement of a separate section of the road surface caused by the flow of the vehicles, which affect the pavement. Heavy hydrocarbon, which can be obtained without limitations from Gilsonite, is primed by in the process of de-asphalting of heavy asphalt, porous asphalt, coarse asphalt, and road tar.
In general, Gilsonite construction grade reduces low-temperature properties of pavements and makes them prone to thermal cracking. When fused into hot asphalt, Gilsonite reduces the penetration and increase the viscosity of the binder. Bitumen Modifier “Gilsonite” can also be mixed with the aggregate before adding the binder. Asphalt pavements, improved by means of Gilsonite, are particularly successful in areas with heavy traffic. Transportation today has increased significantly. Intense transport flow often occurs all over across the country.
Benefits of Using Gilsonite Construction Grade
- Improved resistance to deformation;
- Improved economic characteristics of the road;
- Improved resistance to dents;
- Improved resistance to fatigue;
- Improved durability;
- Compensation for weak mixture;
- Compensation for weak aggregates.
Gilsonite construction grade is permitted for use in all climate zones.
The content of Bitumen Modifier “Gilsonite” in the asphalt mix is established empirically, depending on the operating conditions and the required final characteristics of asphalt concrete. The percentage of a Gilsonite as added to the asphalt mix depends on the production conditions; usually, it ranges from 2.0% to 6.0% by weight of bitumen.
In Russia, pavements are typically constructed using Bitumen BND 60/90.
Viscous petroleum road bitumen BND 60/90 is a mixture of hetero-organic compounds and hydrocarbons, which does not boil out at oil refining temperatures.
BND 60/90 is famous for its durability, safety, and low cost (its price is 2-2.5 times lower than that of concrete coating). It is also notable for its reliability when combined with various components (chip stone, sand, and mineral powder) while maintaining the required ductility and strength. The pavement is able to withstand higher static and dynamic loads over a wide temperature range and has the long life.
Viscous petroleum bitumen BND 60/90 is an active binding component in repair and construction of pavements. Construction of asphalt pavements from hot and warm mixes includes such steps as preparation, paving operations, compaction of the mix, and final finishing work. The preparation phase involves checking the readiness of the roadbed including verification of conformance to design conditions; road location work; cleaning the roadbed from contaminations; installation of side stops. The turn of hot and warm mixes comes after appropriate preparation of the roadbed. Works are carried out by machines with necessary capacity that meets the required schedule of activities. There are several more types of viscous road bitumen preparation for application. Of course, first and foremost, it should be unpackaged, broken into pieces, and warmed up. Then, an appropriate container is filled to about 3/4 of its volume. The bitumen is heated in the open container using fire and is stirred from time to time (the resulting mix may not contain solid particles or foam). When the bitumen is intended to be used as a primer, it should be pre-cooled to 80 ° C, and then poured into a container with solvent (in a ratio of 1:3). The whole mix is then thoroughly stirred to obtain a liquid, which is comfortably applied using a roller or a brush.
Physico-chemical properties of the sample of oil road bitumen grade 60/90 with the addition of Bitumen Modifier “Gilsonite Construction Grade”
| No | parameter | Norm BND 60/90 |
BND 60/90 (initial for adding Gilsonite) |
BND 60/90+ 3% of Gilsonite |
BND 60/90+ 5% of Gilsonite |
| 1 | Needle penetration depth at 25°C,0.1mm | 61-90 | 77 | 56 | 46 |
| 2 | Softening point, ° C, min | 47 | 49 | 52 | 55 |
| 3 | Elongation at 25 ° C, cm, min | 55 | 82 | 55 | 33 |
| 4 | Brittleness temperature, ° C, max | min15 | min 18 | min 16 | min 14 |
| 5 | Change in the softening temperature after heating, ° C, max | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
Our proposal
Compliance with the specifications for the time between repairs of asphalt-concrete surfaces will require a large-scale implementation of various modifications, many of which do not resolve the issues of improving the rheological properties of base bitumen despite a resulting substantial cost increase, which in turn results in an increase of construction, repair and maintenance costs.
The conditions of the worldwide crisis dictate the necessity to use internationally recognized and scientifically proven technologies. In road construction, such technologies may be associated with the application of natural asphaltites and their artificial analogues. The use of these technologies will allow not only to reduce construction costs but also to increase the service life of the road surface.
RAHA Gilsonite Co. is ready to supply requested quantities of artificial asphaltite to road construction companies and provide cooperative research support of the introduction of asphaltites into the road construction industry.
