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Interested in our new ARMI™ Reinforced RCRI?
Try it using our Good, Better, Best & Test Program
We recently introduced ARMI™, a new and vastly improved Reflective Cracking Relief Interlayer (RCRI) from Surface Tech. ARMI™ utilizes our ACE XP Polymer Fiber, made from one of the strongest man-made fibers in existence — aramid. That means the same fibers that provide armor for soldiers can now armor your next asphalt overlay to hold its ground against water penetration to the subgrade and deliver seven times greater crack resistance compared to standard asphalt mixes.
To help speed the introduction of this next-level RCRI, Surface Tech has developed the Good, Better, Best & Test Program.
Introducing the Good, Better, Best & Test Program by Surface Tech
Our 5-Step program begins by helping you better understand the condition of your existing pavement. It all starts with the numbers. The remaining steps guide you through determining which level of our Aramid Pavement Solution Platform, including ARMI , will work good, better or best with your numbers to achieve the level of performance improvement you desire for your budget.
As part of our program, we recommend using IDEAL-CT and Hamburg Wheel Test (HWT) to establish the cracking and rutting performance of your existing mix designs to set the baseline. Once this baseline is established, 4.2 oz. / ton and 8.4 oz. / ton of ACE XP Polymer Fiber should be lab mixed into these mix designs to establish the improved IDEAL-CT Index and associated HWT rut depth. This testing will provide a better Balance Mix Design protecting against both cracking and rutting.
The program works to match the right Aramid Pavement Solution with the cracking severity. Each project can then be categorized by cracking severity (Moderate, Severe and Very Severe). Once established, the correct Good, Better & Best solution can then be selected based on both performance and budget expectations.
What’s in your asphalt? Put an ARMI™ to work to help you find out!
Join us as we attack the ruts and cracks wreaking havoc on our nation’s pavements. Put our 5-Step Program to work for you — and for the entire asphalt pavement industry. Together, we can combine engineering know-how, investigation, quantification, mix design and testing to achieve the long-elusive goal of creating a balanced mix design, including RCRI, that finally conquers rutting and cracking.
For information on ARMI™ Reinforced RCRI and our Good, Better Best & Test Program, contact Joe Dennis, Chief Technology Officer for Asphalt.
Learn the latest advancements in asphalt ...
1st of ASPHALT 101 webinar series: Thurs. Apr. 16, 2020 – 12pm CDT
Where do today’s asphalt designs come from and where do they need to go for improvement? Phil Blankenship of Blankenship Asphalt Tech & Training will kick off the first of a series of three webinars that will explore how performance testing can drive the future improvement of asphalt mix designs.
In this two-hour webinar, Phil will introduce two main performance tests: IDEAL CT for crack resistance; and the Hamburg Wheel Tracker for rut resistance. He will also discuss advancements in mix design additives, such as ACE XP Polymer Fiber and ARMI. Both of these innovative products help achieve a better balance between cracking and rutting.
The remaining two webinars are scheduled for April 30 and May 14, so mark your calendars now for the rest of the series.
PDH credits are available for participants for each webinar, and ample time is allotted for Q&A. To register for the first webinar, click the link below.
7x greater crack resistance and no third-party ...
Get ready — a unique new solution for bottom-up reflective cracking hits the market soon!
Within the next 30 days, Surface Tech will introduce a new Reflective Cracking Relief Interlayer (RCRI) product that can revolutionize the treatment of pavement suffering from bottom-up reflective cracking. If cracks in your aging concrete or asphalt concrete pavements are giving you constant headaches, stay on the lookout for the announcements. Here’s why.
The typical treatment for restoring deteriorating Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) and asphalt concrete (AC) generally employs a hot mix asphalt overlay. Unfortunately, due to the mismatch between the flexural strengths of the underlaying pavement and the asphalt overlay, cracks tend to reappear within three to five years.
Asphalt rubber interlayers, fabrics and other interlayer methods have been used to address the problem, and the performance of these methods has varied greatly—especially in cold climates.
“Early 2019 testing performed by the University of California-Berkley Pavement Research Center (UCPRC) on ACE XP Polymer Fiber reinforced asphalt mixes led the Surface Tech development team into the lab to develop a novel and unique RCRI solution utilizing aramid fibers to reduce the need for polymer modified binders,” said Phil Blankenship, P.E., a member of Surface Tech’s Advisory Committee and principal of Blankenship Asphalt Tech and Training, PLLC. Blankenship led the research and development of Surface Tech’s new RCRI product.
UCPRC found that typical asphalt mixes reinforced with ACE XP Polymer Fiber can improve the mixture fatigue life by over 90 percent at 600 microstrains and 200 percent at 900 microstrains. Further development by Surface Tech has led to a new RCRI product reinforced with aramid polymer fibers that can provide fatigue life improvement of more than 700 percent at 2000 microstrains.
“These results are significant, because most bottom-up, or reflective cracking, falls in the 600+ microstrains range,” said Blankenship. “The added performance built into this new RCRI product provides improved service life for years of crack-free performance.”
In addition to providing vastly improved crack resistance, Surface Tech’s next-level RCRI solution also reduces costs by eliminating the third-party contractors typically required for other geosynthetic interlayer products. Instead, Surface Tech’s new RCRI solution is a plant-made and paver-laid interlayer keeping the paver in control of tight construction schedules.
To successfully protect against reflexive cracking, the RCRI must be designed to meet a high-strain beam fatigue test and a rutting test and be combined with a high-quality asphalt overlay to protect the interlayer from direct traffic.
“Today’s mixtures do not have to rely on just polymer in the asphalt binder to create a highly crack resistant interlayer product,” said Blankenship. “Surface Tech’s new RCRI solution provides greatly enhanced performance and provides an RCRI system that can be engineered for all parts of the U.S., no matter the availability of binder and other raw materials.”
Surface Tech’s new RCRI product hits the market in 30 days
Looking for Improved Asphalt Solutions? Go to BATT
If you face a challenging future asphalt paving job, let Blankenship Asphalt Tech and Training (BATT) go to bat for you. Phil Blankenship, P.E., has created a company that offers a wide variety of services, including testing, training, engineering and product development.
As a strategic advisor to Surface Tech, Phil has applied his considerable depth of knowledge and 26 years of experience to a wide range of asphalt applications. Phil recently helped us design a revolutionary new asphalt mixture and provided field support for the placement of this innovative, crack-resistant, one-inch layer of asphalt. Applied on top of a general aviation airport runway that was plagued with microcracks, it allowed the airport to reopen in short order. (See our blog post for photos + project details.)
It’s the kind of forward-thinking service you can expect from Phil, and the BATT-men team, which includes Zack McKay who joined the company to lead the laboratory testing and training. Coming from the Asphalt Institute in the asphalt mixtures lab, Zack has nearly eight years of asphalt design and performance testing experience.
“I’m committed to our asphalt paving industry and the technology of asphalt pavements,” said Phil. “I work with contractors and suppliers on customized lab test training, product evaluations, new product trials, general project support, custom designs, such as balanced mix designs and performance testing designs.”
As a member of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists, TRB committees, PAIKY, and chair of ASTM 04.26, he stays abreast of the latest asphalt technologies and invites you to go to BATT with your next asphalt challenge. Learn more at https://www.blankenshipasphalttech.com/