FEATURE INFRARED ASPHALT
REPAIR
The solution for many needs
E ven squinting hard through lenses Windex-clean with glasses firmly planted on the nose , it isn ’ t possible to see infrared . It ’ s at a wavelength just greater than that of the red end of the visible light spectrum . There are no ads for special infrared viewing glasses competing with x-ray vision specs on the back of comic books . For those in the asphalt paving industry , infrared is not a magical technology . It is electromagnetic radiation that is practically applied to damaged asphalt pavement to perform an asphalt pavement repair or correct grade issues . Infrared asphalt repair , or IR , is a fairly simple technique used to repair road damage , among other applications . The infrared process requires an infrared heater to warm the damaged asphalt to a malleable state , then new asphalt is added , and the two combine seamlessly to repair the surface . There are quite a few benefits of using infrared for pavement repair . The deep penetrating heat of the infrared rays allows repairs to occur without the risk of separating the asphalt from the aggregate subsurface . It reduces the chance of burning or scaling of the existing asphalt ’ s surface . It is designed to allow for easy installation of speed bumps on roads and in parking lots . “ Infrared heat for pavement repair provides seamless repair so the edges of the pot hole or damaged area are bonded to existing pavement preventing water / moisture to infiltrate the repair areas ,” stated Daniel Martin , marketing manager for Kasi Infrared , Hickman , California . “ There ’ s also lower cost compared to cut and patch . Infrared needs fewer resources and materials to complete the same job as cut and patch making it much more cost efficient .” There are other pros associated with infrared pavement repair . “ There is a much shorter repair time compared to cut and patch methods ,” stated Jarrod Filion of North American Infrared / Filion Equipment Sales of Charlestown , New Hampshire . “ This means there is less interference with vehicular traffic and pedestrians and shorter downtime .”
By Jeff Winke
Bob Kieswetter , P . Eng . and president of Heat Design Equipment Inc ., Kitchener , Ontario Canada , Canada said that a “ main benefit of infrared pavement repair is that it ’ s 100 % recycling in place , which makes it environmentally friendly . It can be completed quickly ; leaves a sealed watertight edge ; and does not leave a squared edge for stress build up and cracking in the adjacent asphalt as happens with cut and patch .” Time and profitability are favorable attributes of IR repairs . “ An average IR repair will take approximately one-third the time of traditional methods ” stated Michael Blake , marketing director , KM International , North Branch , Michigan . “ So thinking about it in terms of productivity , for every saw cut you perform , you can complete three IR repairs . Additionally , normal margins on a saw cut range from 10 % -25 %, where as , with an IR repair it is not uncommon to yield 50 % -plus margins . “ Unlike a saw cut , remove and replace , an IR repair creates a seamless heated bond between the repair area and the surrounding asphalt . This seamless bond will greatly reduce the likelihood of future water penetration , which would cause a premature failure of the patch .” Blake described the efficiency of IR in terms of benefits to the customer : “ One of the most beneficial things to the customer is minimal disruption to their parking lot . A normal IR repair should only take 15-20 minutes and requires 2-3 employees and a single truck . Compared to traditional methods that take 45 minutes to an hour and require 5-6 employees , multiple dump trucks , and a skid steer . The fact that with IR a contractor can be in and out of a property in less than an hour with essentially no interruption to the customers business is a very appealing sales when selling IR services to commercial clients .” Most are familiar with typical applications of infrared asphalt pavement repair which includes :
• Creating seamless overlays of new and existing asphalt
• Pothole repairs / patching
• Elevation adjustments around grates and utility holes
[ 12 ] www . callape . com 1.800.210.5923