Asphaltist News

Concrete has a fatal flaw and so does asphalt. Both can break. That means both materials have a common need — a reinforcement agent that adds tensile strength and resiliency. To increase the tensile strength of concrete, contractors add rebar. Steel rebar adds resilience. Concrete and rebar combine to make a composite material that provides both compressive and tensile strength. The same dynamic occurs when ACE Polymer Fibers® reinforce asphalt. Made from aramid polymers, which are five times stronger than steel, ACE provides outstanding strength, flexibility, and abrasion tolerance to asphalt. Micro roots provide this exceptional reinforcement, adding 400,000 psi of tensile strength. Millions of fibers add a three-dimensional reinforcement throughout the asphalt giving it a tensile flexibility that resists rutting during hot summers and cracking through cold winters. To create ACE, Surface Tech bundles high-strength aramid fibers and coats them with wax. Contractors find ACE easy to adopt, especially compared to wet polymers or unbound fibers. Dosing is less expensive, more reliable, and precise with Surface Tech’s DFNDR, the world’s most accurate dosing system. The ultimate beauty to ACE is its scalability and batch-to-batch reliability. Infallible dosing accuracy allows contractors to sell and place with confidence. Since 2013, ACE-reinforced asphalt pavements have delivered exceptional performance in hundreds of projects throughout the U.S. and Canada. You wouldn’t pour concrete without rebar. The same goes for asphalt and ACE. It provides a time-tested, easy-to-mix, easy-to-use reinforcement that controls the aggregate matrix to prevent cracking and rutting while improving fatigue resiliency and toughness. We believe in better, longer life pavements. That’s why we deliver solutions that provide superior performance, cost efficiency, ease of use and precise dosing. To learn how Surface Tech’s winning solutions can reinforce your next asphalt project, contact us.