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QUESTIONS

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QUESTIONS Australian Asphalt Pavement Association International Knowledge Transfer 2016 - EUROPE 21 May to 5 June 2016 + v9 2016-05-20 Before the visit commences AAPA has traditionally engaged with the participants and their sponsors to ensure that any specific questions they may have are included in the planning. The questions are sent to our hosts in Europe which allows them to have the right contacts available and also speeds up the exchange of information and helps address language barriers.

Please review the below themes and include your questions and those of your sponsor.

Return to me as soon as you can, even if incomplete. A master list of questions will be developed and regularly re-circulated to the IKT participants as updates are received.

Reference material: 1. The Eurobitume & Eurasphalt Congress details:

http://www.eecongress2016.org

2. The RILEM Conference details: http://mcd2016.sciencesconf.org/resource/page/id/6

IKT 2016 THEMES “Delivering Smarter Road Assets: Capturing European Innovation”

1. Smart & intelligent infrastructure

2. Sustainability, recycling & innovation drivers

3. Advances in plant, equipment and new techniques for safety & efficiency

4. Implementing innovative, next generation surfacings

5. Cold products & energy efficiency

6. Asset management; stewardship arrangements

7. Road maintenance, management & financing

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1. Smart & intelligent infrastructure Intelligent infrastructure and enhanced communications between vehicle, road furniture, road surface and traffic managers continues to provide and offer more sophisticated ways of driving efficiency and utilization of the transport & roads network. This and the vision of driverless cars, trucks and on-demand internet driven passenger transport will present a major disruption to the traditional way in which we view our roads and their use.

a) How are the road agencies and builders responding to the challenge of digital disruption?

b) What function do our roads play in the future and what are the materials used in pavement construction?

c) What are the innovations in infrastructure management and how are these impacting on road use?

d) Does the road of the future talk? (Will the pavement have embedded internet-connected technologies, providing real time traffic counts, loads, pavement temperatures, strains, etc)

2. Sustainability, recycling & innovation drivers Internationally the focus on carbon footprint and energy efficiency remains a high profile social concern. Decision making by asset owners is impacted, leading to the development of calculators and protocols to evaluate and promote the use of products that minimize these impacts.

a) What drivers are there for sustainability / carbon calculators in Europe?

b) Is Europe likely to adopt a standard Life Cycle Assessment approach?

c) Are there standard GHG abatement programs / directives for reuse / repurposed / recycled “end of life” road products?

d) How do sustainability calculators have an impact of materials use?

e) Does the “heat island effect” have an impact on the selection of pavement types?

f) Are there new developments in the use of RAP, rejuvenators?

g) Is there a system of reward for innovative opportunities explored and developed?

h) How are innovation systems being explored and developed?

i) Are recycled aggregates being used in asphalt other than RAP, i.e. recycled concrete aggregates?

j) Are there any recyclable materials (beyond that currently used) being pursued for use in road construction? Anything showing promise?

k) Are there minimum imposed requirements in RAP management plans by SRAs?

l) How are the contractors managing the processing RAP e.g. processed from specific projects, blended from many sources, etc.?

m) What testing is required on the RAP and does this change if higher proportions are used in the asphalt?

n) Are recycled aggregates used, and if yes, from what processes?

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3. Advances in plant, equipment and new techniques for safety & efficiency

In road construction and maintenance, there is no greater potential to promote efficiency, profitability and speed of delivery than through improvements to the tools and systems used to build road infrastructure. The sensitivity to changing priorities and input costs should rapidly be reflected in the new and safer equipment available.

a) Next generation plant and equipment – what will be landing in Australia soon?

b) What is the focal point for change; safety; efficiency; environment?

c) How do the improvements in the latest plant and equipment address address the focal points for change?

d) Driverless cars are coming but how close are we to driverless plant and equipment?

e) What traffic calming devices are being used to slow down traffic through workzones?

f) Is plant captured quality/process control data being used to reduce testing requirements?

4. Implementing innovative, next generation surfacings

AsphaltsurfacetreatmentsandsprayedsealsarethedominantcoveringsofAustralianroadswithmorethan98percentoftheroadnetwork.Theirhighfriction,waterproofing,temperatureresilienceandflexibilityprovideacosteffectivetreatmentfortheunderlyingflexiblepavement.Increasingenvironmentaldemandsandtrafficloadingshaveencouragedgreaterapplicationofscienceandengineeringknowhowtoprovidebetterandmoremanageableandinnovativeoptions.

a) Surface treatments for the future - what needs to change?

b) What is best practice in surface treatments? and why?

c) What are the drivers for innovation in sprayed sealing and asphalt surfacing?

d) Are performance based specifications a driver to innovation in surface treatments?

e) What problems are being solved and what system is being utilized for implementation?

f) What advances have there been in applying sprayed seals and traditional sprayed seal and asphalt surfacing equipment ?

g) What HAPAS & Avis Technique products can be franchised into Australia?

h) If cutters aren’t being used in sprayed sealing applications, how is priming addressed i.e. emulsion primes?

i) Do emulsion primes provide adequate penetration into the base?

j) What time delays are encountered when using primes before the next treatment can be applied?

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5. Cold products & energy efficiency Reducing the energy usage in road construction remains a top priority in safety and economic efficiency. Warm Mix Asphalt is one step on the path to bituminous bound products that reduces the need to heat to achieve compaction of the asphalt. Emulsified binders offer similar reduced temperature advantages along with handling and safety benefits. Australia has some way to go to embed these practices.

a) How far away is cold asphalt?

b) What are the direct environmental and economic benefits?

c) What is the case for adopting cold products?

d) Can cold spray sealing utilize high bitumen content emulsions, are they available in Europe?

6. Asset management, stewardship arrangements Smart infrastructure provides opportunities and challenges for asset management. Demand management, vehicle monitoring, and integrated electronic controls allow for intelligent network management, promoting efficiency and maximizing the utilization of the network. Investments in ITS provide significant returns through improved network carrying capacity. Network disruption increases the responsibility of the asset owner to provide increased mobility and economy to the motorist and transport operators. Enhancing a stewardship model of both the road and pavement asset through smart systems, artificial intelligence and managing “big data” will become necessary tools in the future of roads.

a) What are the latest tools used to integrate pavement performance and construction planning?

b) What is the next stage of development for the current asset stewardship model arrangements?

c) How can available mobile communications and personal mobile data be used to extract improved road network performance?

d) Will dynamic transport modelling and management should improve stewardship allowing safer operations and maintenance activities?

e) What are the decision processes for maintenance/rehabilitation timing and treatment selection?

f) How is the residual asset value assessment undertaken to determine the “end of life” economic value of the pavement?

g) How is construction efficiency being promoted and how is it out into practice in design and contract delivery?

h) How far has WMA progressed i.e. what percentage of total production?

i) What WMA technology(s) is mostly used?

j) Have any performance issues been identified with any WMA technology?

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k) Do specifications differentiate between HMA and WMA or exclude WMA in any application?

l) Are there any opening to pavement issues to traffic using any of the WMA (or cold asphalt) technologies?

m) Are any heat streams from the asphalt plant recovered and used in other areas?

n) Is odouranissueineitherasphaltorsprayedsealing?

7. Road maintenance, management & financing The road infrastructure network remains one of society’s highest value public assets. Funding and maintaining this valuable asset also remains a critical challenge today as in the past. Increasing utilisation, decreased excess road capacity and reduced access time for maintenance impacts on the costs, safety and resultant disruption for the road user. A future scenario suggests asset maintenance management based on planned interventions at fixed frequencies which improves the performance of the infrastructure but requires careful product selection linked to reliable performance.

a) How is the public responding to and tolerant of the maintenance task on European roads?

b) What are the drivers for maintenance activities on roadways?

c) Do road managers and financiers have a maintenance profile based on material types and what tools are used to keep the roadway operating to capacity?

d) What is being done to embed efficiency drivers in contracts for construction, maintenance and operation of European road networks?

e) Do performance based specifications have a future role in road management?

f) How does management assess road maintenance congestion against the safety of the road worker?

g) Many years ago some countries introduced 'lane charging' where the road authority would charge all contractors, utility owners, event organisers etc. Is this still occurring? How is the increased travel demand being balanced with the need to have access for maintenance?

h) Is there a desire to build more robust infrastructure to ensure that maintenance can be deferred therefore reducing disruption to traffic, improving sustainability and providing increased safety to maintenance workers (by avoiding the need to have them work in traffic)?

i) How is the balance between undertaking maintenance and having an operational pavement approached – especially on major roads i.e. are extended shutdowns/closures tolerated or allowed?

j) Is EME used in maintenance applications?

k) What are the main KPI’s for maintenance contracts?

l) What is the typical length of maintenance contracts?

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GENERAL QUESTIONS a) How can the Australian industry members and asset owners better and more sustainably

connect with counterparts in Europe?

b) Airport pavements – How has the larger / heavier / high tyre-pressured commercial aircraft impacted on pavement design and material choice?

c) Has crack and seat or rubblisation been used in urban areas? If so, how successful has it been?

d) Have thin lays / thin asphalt been laid over crack & seated pavements and how have they performed?

e) Is natural sand allowed in EME mix designs ?

Binders a) Binder specifications and test methods, both current and emerging, particularly out of the

CEN TC336 WG1 group:

• Update on latest specifications and test methods across Europe.

• Direction and implementation of performance graded binder specification adoption – if not, why not?

• Binder sampling and testing at the point of delivery:

• Is this carried out, if not why not?

• What safety protocols are provided around taking bitumen samples from delivery trucks, rail cars, barges, etc?

b) Performance based specifications / HAPAS implementation.

• Successes/failures?

• Application to PMBs / thin surfacings / sprayed seals / other applications.

c) Impact of importation of bitumen on nature, quality and performance of bitumen, including:

• What issues have arisen relating to odour and the presence of flammable volatiles and how are these assessed and managed?

d) Occupational health issues relating to binder use, including:

• An update on the European position post publication of the IARC monograph.

• Exposure limits as they are applied across Europe.

• Methods for limiting worker exposure, including:

• Engineering methods and procedures.

• Use of alternative application methods (WMA, bituminous emulsions, etc.).

• If WMA is used, how is it achieved e.g. foam / additives?

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e) Environmental issues relating to the use of bituminous binders:

• Recycling:

• RAP utilisation.

• Use of soft binders to ‘adjust’ the theoretical binder viscosity when using RAP.

• Is RAP used in ‘speciality’ mixes e.g. EME / SMA?

• Life cycle analysis & whole of life costing.

• Utilisation of waste materials (‘repurposing’):

• Eurobitume and other entity policies and strategies relating to the utilisation of waste streams.

• Crumb rubber usage.

• Other waste usage:

• Used oils.

• Plastics.

f) Are various sources of binders used by Contractors?

g) Are they treated differently in mix designs?

h) Are WMA additives used with PMB’s (and are there any issues)?

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EMEa) HowwidelyisEMEbeingused?

b) HasEMEdeliveredtheexpectedbenefitsineitherreducingpavementthicknessorincreasingthepavementlife?

c) AreadhesionagentsusedinEME?Ifyes,dotheyadverselyimpactonanyproperty?

d) IshydratedlimeusedasafillerinEME?Ifyes,howmuchoristhereamaximumlimit?

e) WhatisthetypicalpavementmakeupabovetheEMEi.e.asinglelayerofwearingcourse(andwhatarethese)?

f) ArethereanyridequalityissuesonEMEprojects?

g) IsRAPusedinEMEandifyes,howisitmanaged?

h) IsEMEmadeusinganyWMAtechnology?

i) AredifferentsizedEME’susedandarethereanybenefitsinhavingasmallerNMASEME?

j) WhatdefectshavebeenobservedinEMEe.g.binderflushing,andcantheybetolerated?

k) HowwillRAPfromEMEpavementsbeused?

l) WhatqualitycontrolandprocesscontrolmeasuresareimplementedbyContractorsmakingandplacingEME?

m) ArethereanyrestrictionsastohowwidepavingrunsofEMEcanbe(orisittreatedthesameasdensegradedasphalt)?

n) IsEMEusedinintersectionsandsmallermaintenanceapplications?

o) IfEMEisopenedtotraffic,howisitmanaged?

p) Ifgrittingisused,isitnecessary?

q) Areboth10/20and15/25Penbindersused.Whatdictatestheiruse?Anyperformancedifferences?

Robert Vos AAPA IKT 2016 Organiser robert.vos@aapa.asn.au