Epoxy Asphalt is an extremely durable pavement typically used on long span bridges with orthrotropic steel decks. It is also used for very durable overlays (as thin as ¾ inch or 19 mm) on concrete decks. Epoxy Asphalt’s first major installation and longest service life is on the San Mateo Bridge in Northern California, where it is still in use after 46 years. Its heaviest use is on the Bay Bridge between Oakland and San Francisco where traffic counts are 280,000 daily vehicles over 10 lanes. The Bay Bridge overlay is 19 mm and has lasted 37 years. Epoxy Asphalt is a thermoset polymer unlike regular and polymer modified asphalt binders, the latter of which are thermoplastics. It does not melt, does not rut or shove and is many times stronger than normal asphalts. It offers 3-4 orders of magnitude improved fatigue resistance (won't crack under repeated flexing). Epoxy Asphalt is placed with standard asphalt paving equipment and plants. Epoxy Asphalt is manufactured by ChemCo Systems in Redwood City CA (www.chemcosystems.com).

1. Epoxy Asphalt
Durable pavement for Steel Decks
ChemCo Systems

2. Epoxy Asphalt
History
 late 1950s Shell Oil develops jet fuel and hydraulic oil
resistant paving for airport taxiways.
 1966 Caltrans uses Epoxy Asphalt on San Mateo-
Hayward Bridge (in use—46 yrs. of service).
 1976 Bay Bridge ¾” (19mm) overlay on lightweight
concrete (in use—36 yrs. of service, 280,000
vehicles/day).
 1986 Golden Gate Bridge redecked (in use).
 2000 2nd Nanjing Br. (first Asia project).
--5th generation product designed for high heat and wheel loads
 2013 6th generation product
ChemCo Systems

3. Epoxy Asphalt
Applications
 Orthotropic steel decks
• New construction
• Replacement paving
• Re-decking
 Overlays
 Temporary chip seals
 High (heavy weight) traffic, strategic
roads with long life requirement
 Fuel and chemical resistant paving
Lionsgate Br
ChemCo Systems

4. Epoxy Asphalt
Replacement paving
 Uses standard paving
equipmt
 Can close only one
lane
 Reopened in 2 hrs
 Day or night placement
ChemCo Systems

5. Epoxy Asphalt
Redecking
Deck sections can be chip sealed at fabrication plant
ChemCo Systems

6. Epoxy Asphalt
EA Chemistry
 Epoxy cross-linked polymer continuous
phase, asphalt discontinuous phase
 2 component binder and 2 component bond
coat
• Part A Resin
• Part B Asphalts and cross-linkers
 Ambient temperature cure mechanism
 Cured polymer is thermoset (won’t melt)
ChemCo Systems

7. Epoxy Asphalt
Properties
 Extremely high fatigue
resistance
 Ultra high strength bond
coat
• Protects against
delamination
• Ensures composite
action with steel
 Thermoset
• Will not melt
Element meshing
 Higher modulus than
other flexible pavements
• Reduces deck deflection
“Epoxy Asphalt has a fatigue life of 2 to 3 orders
of magnitude greater than the PG76-22 I-5 mix…”.
--Rutgers University study
ChemCo Systems

8. Epoxy Asphalt
Properties
 Does not oxidize
• No embrittlement
upon aging
Low voids (typically
~2 %)
• Water
impermeable
• No chloride ion High Temperature bond performance
FHWA OECD Long Lived Pavement Study
penetration Turner Fairbanks Highway Research Center
ChemCo Systems

9. Epoxy Asphalt
Fundamental difference
 HMA Asphalt, SMA, Gussasphalt,
PMA are thermoplastics: will melt
 Epoxy Asphalt is thermoset: will not
melt
“Epoxy Asphalt concrete has shown excellent performance including anti-cracking feature
under low temperature, stability under high temperatures and oil-corrosion resistance.…”
--W. Wang, Chang’an University
ChemCo Systems

10. Epoxy Asphalt
Advantages
 Low permeability
prevents deck
corrosion
 Fatigue resistance
minimizes cracks
 4+ times more
stability than
standard AC
 Handles truck
wheel overloads
--Rutgers Univ. (to 120 MT in
Asia)
ChemCo Systems

11. Epoxy Asphalt
Advantages
 No rutting or
shoving
 Roadway can open
in 2 hrs
 Use standard AC
paving equipment
• Very high bond
strength
 Won’t delaminate
“The superior oxidation resistance of the epoxy asphalt
material was even more obvious in the Cantabro tests…”
--Transit New Zealand—OECD report
ChemCo Systems

12. Epoxy Asphalt
Typical new construction detail
ChemCo Systems

13. Epoxy Asphalt
EA Specifications
 Dense graded mix, ½” (12mm)
minus
• Basalt rock for skid resistance
and long wear
• Typical compaction to 2%
 Low temperature paving (110-
121ºC)
• Time/temp monitoring is critical
QC element
• Similar temps to warm mix
 Lab simulation (fatigue testing)
advised for unique decks
ChemCo Systems

14. Epoxy Asphalt
EA Equipment: metering for quality
Bond coat machine
Meter/mix machine
(at batch plant)
ChemCo Systems

15. Epoxy Asphalt
O-T Deck Pavement Stress
from wheel load deflection
TENSION
Longitudinal
stiffener
ChemCo Systems

16. Epoxy Asphalt
Fatigue testing
evaluate pavement design
on project specific deck
 Keys
• Realistic paving
composite
specimens
• Good tests take
time
• Research
performance of
local materials
(aggregates)
• Use environmental
chamber to control
extreme temps
ChemCo Systems

17. Epoxy Asphalt
Stress simulation: Epoxy Asphalt fatigue test specimen
●12 mm plate
● 300 mm stiffener spacing,
● center load of 5kN
ChemCo Systems

18. Epoxy Asphalt
Comparison: EA vs. polymer modified AC
or SMA
Properties
Condition Epoxy Asphalt Polymer AC
High temperatures Will not melt Melts
Permeability None measurable
Changes with age a. Will not oxidize a. Oxidizes
b. Flexibility constant b. Flexibility
No age related declines
performance losses
Delamination potential Very low High
Consistent composite
behavior
Fuel resistance High Low—will soften and
dissolve binder
Rutting, shoving Stable Unstable under high
temps and loads
ChemCo Systems

19. Epoxy Asphalt
Chinese standard deck detail
Fatigue test specimen
with 3 pt. dynamic load
on 300 mm center
300 mm stiffener 50-55 mm EA paving
spacing Locus of highest stress is
12 mm deck plate (prior over stiffeners, particularly
to 1999) in truck lanes
14-16 mm deck plate Dynamic fatigue test is
(after 1999) good predictor
ChemCo Systems

20. Epoxy Asphalt
Asian conditions
 High deck pavement temps
• To 90 °C
 Extreme temperature cycle
between winter and summer
 Construction QC varies
widely
 Standardized deck design in
mainland
ChemCo Systems

21. Epoxy Asphalt
Asian conditions
 Consistent very
high truck wheel
overloads
• To 120 MT on 18
wheelers
• SMA and
gussasphalt
sometimes fail as
quickly as 2-3 yrs.
SuTong Br.
ChemCo Systems

22. Epoxy Asphalt
EA: Disadvantages
 Time and temperature controls critical
• QC Controls lead to higher quality and uniformity
• Paving plant needs to be within 50 minute drive
 Too complicated
• Over 35 bridges in Asia in past 10 yrs successfully
completed
– including 1st suspension bridge in Viet Nam
• ChemCo provides on-site advisors
• Use test section in convenient location to train local paving
crews before deck placement
 Costs more
• Cost difference dwarfed by frequent closures and repaving
Thuan Phuoc Bridge
DaNang, Viet Nam
ChemCo Systems

23. Epoxy Asphalt
N. America news
Fremont, Portland
• Repaved in July 2011
(after 39 years of service)
San Francisco-Oakland Bay 2013
• Single anchored suspension (new East Span)
• Opens Sept 2013
MacDonald, Nova Scotia ~2016
• Redeck similar to Lionsgate
(Vancouver BC)
ChemCo Systems

24. Epoxy Asphalt
Future
 Reduce pavement
weight  Improve fatigue
 Local manufacturing performance in most
 OECD-ECMT Joint challenging
Transport Research applications
on long life • Decks with
pavements extremely high wheel
• (U.S., U.K., France, overloads
Germany, Denmark,
New Zealand, • Decks with thin
Australia) plates (12 mm)
• Open graded • Hottest tropical
performance benefits
demonstrated environments
ChemCo Systems

25. Epoxy Asphalt
Conclusions
Design, test and  Asian lessons learned
confirm for wear course • Over design
success surfacing when
Epoxy Asphalt, a
realistic data not
thermoset material, available
performs on challenging • Be flexible to adopt
decks local improvements
Epoxy Asphalt offers life
cycle cost benefits
ChemCo Systems

26. Epoxy Asphalt
Thanks for your interest!
ChemCo Systems