Evaluation of thermoplastic materials : final report.

PDFTech ReportResearch Project No. 71-1CH(B)Louisiana HPR 1(12)Thermoplastic materialsEvaluationStriping materialsRoad markingsTraffic paintConcreteAsphaltReflectorized paintLouisianaLouisiana. Department of Highways. Research and Development SectionLacinak, Henry W.Louisiana. Department of Highways. Research and Development SectionUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationUS Transportation CollectionIn order to find a striping material which would last longer and have greater reflectance than the presently used traffic paint, research was performed on three relatively new thermoplastic marking compounds. The manufacturers of these products claim that the thermoplastic materials have longer life expectancies and higher reflectance values than the presently used traffic paint. Actual field installations were made in order to determine the validity of this statement.Installations were made on four types of roadway surfaces: old concrete, new concrete, old asphalt and new asphalt. Reflectance readings and field inspections were made periodically of both the thermoplastic material and the traffic paint.The results obtained showed that the reflectance of one-year-old white thermoplastic material was generally equal to the initial reflectance of the white material was generally equal to the initial reflectance of the white traffic paint. The reflectance readings of the yellow thermoplastic material and the yellow traffic paint were relatively close for the first 6 months.Periodic inspections showed that t he thermoplastic compound had much more abrasion resistance than the traffic paint. After 30 months of wear, the thermoplastic marking material had a negligible amount of loss due to abrasion. However, the painted stripes were completely worn after only 1 year.Specifications for quality control have been developed based upon laboratory analysis of the thermoplastic material