Version
francaise ici!
Version
francaise ici!
SOTER
has pioneered some unique techniques and equipment which can increase the
already known benefits of thermoregeneration, a term which embodies the
Hot-In-Place recycling and repaving process. The oldest recycling
discipline within the "asphalt recycling and reclaiming association".
The HIP recycling and repaving as practiced with Soter-Kajima equipment consists of a single multi-step process which can correct the pavement deficiencies in the upper one or two inches of existing asphalt pavement, including minor rutting, shrinkage, cracking, revelling and oxidation. This technique provides an immediate riding surface because it re-establishes instantly crown and drainage profiles.
Soter's research and development team was able to bring about the opportunity to form an association with Japan's Kajima Road Co., a world leader in special pavement technologies such as slope pavement systems, surface recycling methods, asphalt surfacing methods and super strong surface pavement methods. On the strength of this association, Soter was able to bring to Canada in 1990 the latest innovation in pavement recycling equipment, designed and built by the Kajima Road Co. with the help of the giant Mitsubishi Industries.
The Soter-Kajima Super Reformer II and their accompanying hot air roadheaters, now being used in Canada (Montreal, Hull, Quebec, The Citadelle), illustrate the well known inventiveness of the Japanese in their ability to successfully design and fabricate scaled down equipment. In this case they achieved their objective in overcoming the constraints of an urban environment.
The Soter-Kajima Pre-heaters and the Super Reformer II can effectively be used on major highways but they have been uniquely designed to handle the confinement and complications of city streets, including blind alleys, buried services, and all other urban road support structures. The Super Reformer II and its small convoy perform their task at a continuous working speed (no stop and go) and in one lane with one pass with little traffic disruption.
The Kajima Road Co.'s second objective was to adopt a hot air heating system. This is a uniform, time controlled and temperature limited heating process which circulates hot air of a constant temperature evenly over the road surface. The system eliminates the possibility of damage to the recycled asphalt materials through overheating, and consequently prevents the smoke and pollution associated with radiant (direct) heating methods. The Soter-Kajima Pre-heater using a kerosene or stove oil furnace as the core of the Hot Air Flow system has been successfully employed here in Canada since 1990.
Thermoregeneration as practiced by Soter is capable of a continuous single pass, multistep process of heating, reworking, applying a recycling agent, redistribution of the existing pavement material and the placement of an asphalt concrete surface course. To provide this scope of work, Soter's expertise comes from using three types of
A- First remote controlled hot air flow road heater.
B- Second road heater (like the first one) immediately preceding the Super Reformer II and equipped with Soter's custom designed recycling agent distribution system under computer controlled implementation.
C- The Super Reformer and Repaver.
The road heaters use a kerosene or stove oil fueled furnace operating at 700°C. The jet propelled system circulates hot air through the furnace, over the road surface and back to the furnace in a continuous and efficient heat recycling process. They are self propelled and all operational functions may be controlled from an operators station atop the machine or remotely via a hand held control panel. They also operate independently of the Super Reformer and in continuous motion in order to control and ensure a uniform, time-controlled and temperature limited heating process. The travelling speed is coordinated with the processing rate of the Super Reformer, and must take into consideration the weather conditions and ambient temperature, as well as any delays that might occur with the Super Reformers operation. The major benefits to this procedure are the elimination of smoke and damage caused by burning of the surface materials.
Soter's experience has shown that the rejuvenator fluid works best when added immediately after pre-heating and before the milling step in order to obtain a uniformly blended mixture of material. So to attain this objective, Soter has designed and built a recycling agent distribution system which is installed on the rear of the second road heater. The recycling agent is applied uniformly across the entire width of the freshly heated road surface. This is accomplished through flow control nozzles which can be adjusted in relation to the speed of the road heaters and in accordance with the exact specifications set out by laboratory results. The instrumentation control system is fully computerized showing the application rate over the specified treatment area and the cumulative total quantity of rejuvenating agent used.
The Super Reformer II is the trade name for a unique machine whose design has evolved from a standard paver to a very versatile piece of equipment. Through heating, rotary scarifying, milling, reforming and repaving, this machine can provide a strengthened and correctly profiled road with an excellent and enduring rolling surface, while also recycling the quality aggregate materials and asphaltic cement already present in the pavement. The primary (front) grinder which is stationary, spans the full width of the process area, rotates in only a down cutting direction and is vertically adjustable to control the depth and profile of grinding. Two rear mounted rotary grinders, each spanning about half of the process area, which are capable of reversible rotation and are adjustable vertically as well as laterally (transversely) from center. The milling head of these rotary grinders is designed to crush and mix the old surface materials to a uniform consistency equivalent to a plant produced asphalt mix (no chunking as with scraping techniques).
The newly recycled asphalt mix is then immediately re-spread on the road surface. The rejuvenating agent which was added is now thoroughly mixed in with the old material giving it new flexibility and adhesive qualities. The cost benefit of the thermoregeneration process over comparable curative methods such as "heat reforming" (heating, scarifying, levelling, rolling and addition of a second step or a wearing surface asphalt layer) or "cold planing" (removal of a thickness of the existing pavement and application of a layer of new asphalt mix) extends from the fact that:
1) The "Heat Reforming Method" is limited in its quality because it will not prevent the reappearance of cracks, etc., and it is difficult to use successfully on deformed pavement surfaces.
2) The "Cold Planing Method" creates a stockpile of old bituminous concrete material, necessitating environmentally controlled dumps sites, and/or adds the cost of recycling via a hot asphalt mixing plant in order to render the planed materials re-usable.
In conclusion we can affirm that with this new thermoregeneration technology, Soter can produce a new paved and finished surface, extending the durability of the surface by as much as fifty percent of the original pavement and at a savings of up to half the cost of conventional road repaving methods.
For more information on the Super Reformer II, you can link to our gallery where you will find JPEG images and interesting links. You may also link here for our coordinates.