Investigation of fog seal with waterborne thermosetting materials in airport pavement

Abstract

As the most important infrastructure of airport system, airfield pavement was exposing to the challenges with heavy aircraft loads and increased flights frequency. Therefore, its preservation and maintenance had been imperative. Fog seal was one of the most cost-effective approaches to solve the problem of early-stage damage and extend the service life of airport pavement. However, the traditional emulsified asphalt tended to present inadequate mechanical strength and would cause a temporary friction loss on pavement, even if polymer modification had been conducted. In this research, the application of thermosetting materials with modified asphalt emulsion, including waterborne epoxy and acrylate, were investigated as a preventive maintenance material for airport pavement. First, the storage stability was tested to study the compatibility. Then the chemical reactions during the curing process of thermosetting materials in asphalt emulsion were observed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). Binder bond strength (BBS) test was conducted to evaluate the adhesion strength evolution of asphalt emulsions. The British Pendulum and pavement permeability test were carried out to analyze the impact of waterborne additive on pavement skid resistance and permeability, in term of different sand contents. The abrasion resistance was measured by wet track abrasion tests. The thermosetting structures in residues were observed with fluorescence microscope and statistical analysis was conducted finally. The results revealed that waterborne epoxy and acrylate, as waterborne thermosetting modifiers, had high potential to be applied in fog seal technology for airport pavement.