A common situation - laying asph alt in the rain - causes a surge of negative emotions among our compatriots. Most of us believe that this is a violation of all rules and regulations. Is that right?
Certain circumstances
So, is it possible to lay asph alt in the rain? SNiP, still Soviet, but still in force, regulates the ambient temperature - not lower than +15°C. But technology doesn't stand still. Today, there are innovative materials that allow you to perform work, even if the temperature outside is below zero. True, not lower than -10 ° С.
What is special
Modern pavement is laid as follows:
- A place is being prepared, which is being thoroughly cleared.
- Crushed stone is poured with a layer of at least 5 cm.
- The special emulsion is poured.
- A layer of bitumen is applied and dry crushed stone is applied on it.
- The created "pie" is carefully rolled with a roller.
In addition to debris and remnants of the old coating, the wet road is cleaned with brushes from moisture. After that, they are heated with infrared heaters. But they are lowperformance. Therefore, on our roads it is very often possible to meet tractors with aircraft engines installed on them. Their hot airflow makes the area suitable for laying mix.
Under these conditions, the most durable coating of Russian roads today.
Modern requirements
Even with innovative materials, the question “is it possible to lay asph alt in the rain” requires certain conditions to be met. Something like:
- The base must not be wet.
- If the precipitation is light, the mixture is cast and cold.
- The air temperature for using a hot mix should be at least +10°C, for cold mixes - at least -5°C, for cast mixes - at least -10°C.
If it's minus outside the window
In the cold season, the area for asph alt laying is cleared of melted snow and ice. Then processed with special reagents.
Any precipitation at this time of the year lowers the temperature of the paving mix, so it is not recommended to lay thick layers of asph alt at this time. Work must be carried out across the entire width of the roadway and at one time. In the event of heavy rains, laying asph alt is strictly prohibited. At low temperatures, is it possible to lay asph alt in the rain? Can. But special technical shrinkages must be added to the mixture.
Hot and cold styling
The cold method is most often used in repair or restoration work. Its mainadvantage - all-season. That is, this is just the case when the question “is it possible to lay asph alt during the rain” is irrelevant. Moreover, the cold styling method is suitable even in winter.
Cold asph alt is of two types:
- Summer. It is used when the temperature breaks from +15 to +30°С.
- Off-season. Suitable for work at temperatures from -5 to +15°С.
None of them are suitable for the construction of a new roadbed. For this, only hot asph alt is used.
If conditions do not allow, resort to innovative technology of poured asph alt.
Cast Asph alt
It is a mixture of bitumen with gravel, sand and ground limestone. It is not necessary to roll such asph alt. Its consistency is such that it lays down in a dense cast layer without additional compaction. One of its advantages is water resistance. This is exactly the case when asph alt can be laid in the rain or even at -10°C. The maximum thickness of the poured asph alt layer should not exceed 30 mm.
Lifetime
Norms and rules allow the destruction of 5% of the roadway after patching. The warranty period is set depending on the traffic intensity. For example, in the adjacent territories it is only two years old. If during this time defects or cracks are found (road builders distinguish between these concepts), the contractor performs restoration work at his own expense. These can be, for example, potholes, subsidence of the web or drainage grates, rutting, etc.
Onhighways, asph alt is changed in large canvases. According to all the same standards, these works must be carried out in dry weather. To the question “is it possible to lay asph alt in the rain”, experts answer that no one forbids this, but if it is small. For this, several conditions must be met. One of the main ones is that the mixture should have an elevated temperature (to evaporate moisture). And for this, the plant for its manufacture must be nearby, and work on site must be carried out quickly and efficiently.
In the end
So is it possible to lay asph alt in the rain? The current norms and rules do not allow road builders to wait for comfortable weather either for patching or for laying a new roadbed. GOST “Automobile roads and streets” speaks directly about this.
In general, the scheme of road repair in wet conditions is simple:
- Preparing the surface: pits and 3-4 cm around are carefully cleaned from moisture, dust and dirt.
- Then the borders are marked. Straight lines are drawn along the canvas and across, capturing the peripit cover by 5 cm.
- If potholes are close to each other, they are united by one perimeter.
- According to the outlined contour (necessarily rectangular or square), vertical recesses are made to the depth of the pit, but not less than the thickness of the entire coating layer.
- Again, everything is cleared of debris, dust and bits of asph alt.
- The walls of the pit are treated with liquefied bitumen or bitumen-based emulsion.
So it turns out that the question is whether it is possible to lay asph alt after the rain, as well as in the rain, and on a wet surface, inlet's solve modern realities. But the work must be carried out quickly: fast unloading, distribution and immediate compaction with a roller. The only “but”: the top layer cannot be laid in wet conditions.
Main off-road reasons
In addition to improper operation, the main ones include the following:
- Saving bitumen emulsion (it provides adhesion of the old coating, soil and gravel). Its lack or absence leads to a rapid "driving" of the laid canvas, and as a result, cracks appear.
- Unpatched bald spots in the asph alt get rainwater or melted snow.
- Insufficient layer of crushed stone or replacing it with broken brick. "Easy" roads involve one layer of crushed stone of medium fraction (20-40 mm). A general purpose canvas requires laying several layers of crushed stone. First, a large fraction (40-70 mm), then a middle layer and the top layer - a fine fraction (5-20 mm). Everyone is rolling.
- The height of each layer of the asph alt "pie" is less than stated in the regulations.
- Delayed work.
- Failure to follow the laying technology.
- Economy of asph alt or its unacceptable quality. Asph alt is made from petroleum. And not every grade is suitable for asph alt production. This is partly why the coating is fragile. Plus insufficient layer thickness. If a layer of 4-5 cm is sufficient for adjacent territories, then there should be several such layers on highways. And different granularity. Fitting firstcoarse-grained asph alt concrete, followed by fine-grained. For reliability, a third layer is also laid. Each is spilled with bitumen.
But the most compelling reason is negligence. Many road workers do not "bother" the question "is it possible to put asph alt in puddles." They just put it. And as a result, the water that has fallen under the coating freezes, expanding the cracks. But is it always negligence? Maybe cold calculation? After all, the sagging and cracked asph alt needs to be repaired again.
Post scriptum
Since the beginning of 2011, new rules for the repair of the roadway began to operate in our country. The main change is that restoration work is now carried out every three years (previously once every seven years). Around the same time, the history of roads began to be kept. Each repaired kilometer is registered in the documents. And if a marriage is detected, the contractors who carried out the work repair the canvas at their own expense.
