HAPI’s mission is to keep the government agencies and consultants informed of upcoming practices and technologies. This workshop, held on September 17, 2014, is a perfect example because FRA is something new to Hawaii. The goal of this workshop was to introduce the DOT Airports staff, their consultants and others interested persons, to the “just about to be approved” P601 – Fuel Resistant Asphalt (FRA) specifications.
The Guest Speakers for the workshop were:
• Robert P. Humer, PE., Sr. Regional Engineer (for CA, AZ, NV, OR, WA and HI), Asphalt Institute
• Ron Corun, Director – Asphalt Technical Services, Axeon Specialty Products LLC
• Richard Levins, President, Asphalt Hawaii
• Chris Lubbers, Technical Sales and Market Dev. Mgr. – Emulsions, Paving and Roofing, Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc.
Mr. Humer got things going with a brief overview of the Asphalt Institute and airport paving in general. He explained their mission and the resources available to the asphalt community, including the description of their airport pavement workshop . He shared that asphalt pavement is used about 50% of the time at airports.
Mr. Corun was the next speaker and did a presentation on the P601 specification, similar to the presentation he does at the Asphalt Institute’s Airport Pavement Workshops. Airports experience fuel and hydraulic oil spills on aprons and taxiways from fueling operations and while airplanes are sitting in queues. These spills soften (weaken) the asphalt, which can result in permanent deformation and failures. Coal tar sealers have been used to protect these pavements; however, they are carcinogenic and banned in some states. The development of a FRA binder adds fuel resistance to SBS-modified asphalt without sacrificing performance.
Kuala Lumpur Airport specified jet fuel resistant asphalt pavements for new construction in 1995. It has since been used at other airports such as La Guardia International Airport. He explained the testing and other documentation showing the effectiveness of a FRA. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has adopted Advisory Circular (AC) #150 / 5370-10G, dated 07/21/2014, which contains specification item P-601 Fuel Resistant Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) pavement.
In summary, FRA is a polymer-modified asphalt developed specifically to resist jet fuel damage and eliminate the need for coal-tar sealers. It provides excellent resistance to permanent deformation and cracking in addition to fuel resistance. The workability of the mix allows contractors to use standard construction practices. It is a proven product with 19 years of history of use at several airports around the world.
Click here for additional information on FRA in the October 2014 issue of Asphalt Pro magazine.
Next up was Mr. Richard Levins, president of Asphalt Hawaii who provided information about the supply of asphalt in Hawaii. He stressed that Hawaii is in the infancy stage of the use of modified asphalts. Our first use of modified asphalts produced locally was for the recently completed H-1 Rehab project. There are a couple of upcoming airport projects requiring a modified asphalt and also an open-graded friction course project on the Big Island. He went on to describe how the tanks relate to each other and how the number of tanks affect the number of products that can stored. Please click here for our May 2014 newsletter for additional information about modified asphalt in Hawaii.
The workshop concluded with at introduction to Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) polymers. Mr. Lubbers described an SBS block copolymer and how SBS functions as an asphalt modifier. He then explained SBS morphology and compatibility in asphalt and the elasticity of asphalts modified with SBS. He concluded with a discussion of the reasons (benefits) to modify asphalt with SBS.
The workshop ended with a lively question and answer session involving all the guest speakers and several of the attendees.
