Projects

Background

Good quality geological materials suitable for use in for road infrastructure construction are becoming more expensive, due to increasingly limited availability. In order to improve the engineering properties of lower cost or recycled pavement materials to keep costs at the same level or lower, modification of materials used in road base courses is common practice; currently common modification methods comprise additions of small percentages of cementitious materials and bitumen-based materials.

A new technology for stabilising these materials is the use of so-called foam bitumen stabilisation.

Project Objectives

1. Development of a laboratory fatigue relationship for foam bitumen stabilised base-course materials, and possibly others identified by Hub researchers

2. Development of appropriate test methods for evaluating fatigue in foam-bitumen stabilised materials, and others if the program allows, and so identified as part of the Hub program

3. Improve Australian design procedures for foam bitumen stabilised pavement materials, and any other bound materials which are evaluated under this broader project

4. Save on life-cycle costs of Australian pavements incorporating foam bitumen stabilised materials, and those other bound materials which the Hub researchers investigate.

5. Train ‘deep-thinkers’ and innovators to carry forward continuous improvement in materials evaluation, specification and concomitant reduction in infrastructure costs.