Many people use asphalt nearly every day of their lives without realizing what it does to help their travel. By building roads, driveways, and sidewalks, asphalt is capable of connecting destinations across the country—and even across different countries—and bring people together . Laying asphalt is a tricky affair, though, and it is often in the way of commutes and travel times. Construction companies are constantly looking for better ways to lay roads in order to cut the impact to commuters. Even laying out a driveway is inconvenient. One more recent technique, asphalt emulsion, does its best to improve laying and setting times and reduce the impact on you.
What is Asphalt Emulsion?
In its simplest form, asphalt emulsion is drops of asphalt cement in a solution of water and an agent such as soap to prevent the drops from bonding together. This mixture of asphalt, water, and soap is easy to spread and dries quickly. When first laid out, the composite is brown and thick like a chocolate pudding; however, as it dries, it turns black like traditional asphalt. At this point, the mixture is known as a “broken” emulsion and moves to the next phase. The broken emulsion begins to dry and solidify. The water holding the drops of asphalt evaporates and lets the still-wet asphalt cement finally bond together. When this process ends, the broken asphalt has “set” and is ready to be used. An emulsion can set within two hours of laying, meaning that it can be used very quickly both during the paving process and afterward for public applications.
What does Asphalt Emulsion Do?
Asphalt emulsion services are called upon for specialized jobs that require a unique type of asphalt as opposed to your typical road work. In particular emulsified asphalt is called upon to handle jobs where lower temperatures are normal. Locations suffering from cooler temperatures and ground-level clouds such as fog benefit from emulsions, since the cooler temperatures and heat-absorbing water compliment the surface. In addition, emulsified asphalt sheds negative ions, so lower static coefficients are common with this type of asphalt. In locations where a single spark can start a fire, this is incredibly crucial. Asphalt is already an incredibly useful surface, but one uniform type of asphalt cannot handle every situation. By adapting the mixing, laying, and setting processes to create different types of asphalt, the road surfaces can be customized to the needs of a location to benefit all users involved.
If you are in the need of pavement or asphalt services, Testa Paving Inc. is here to help! For over 35 years, Testa Paving Inc. has been a driving force within the industry and has been serving the areas of Maryland and northern Virginia.
Interested in one of the services offered by Testa Paving Inc.? Call us today at 301-663-5861 or visit our contact page.
Be sure to click “Like” or “Follow” on our official Pinterest, Google+, Facebook, and Twitter pages today!
Source:
http://www.pavementinteractive.org/article/emulsified-asphalt/