Developing Warm Mix Asphalt for Airport

Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) provides a viable alternate to Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) as an airport surfacing and/or structural layer. WMA provides a number of benefits over HMA. Reduced environmental impact (through reduced carbon emissions), increased health and safety (through reduced fume generation), and increased working time (due to reduced rates of cooling), being the primary advantages. WMA can be generated through a number of technologies, which are broadly categorised as chemical and organic additive technologies, foaming technologies and a combination of both. Astec's Double Barrel Green foaming technology and Sasol Wax's Sasobit wax-based additive are the most commonly encountered processes in Australia. While significant use of WMA has been made for airport surfacing in the USA and Europe, no consideration was found in Australian airports until Adelaide Airport in 2009. In 2012 and 2013, Barrow Island Airport and Adelaide Airport became Australia's first known airports to utilise WMA on their aircraft pavements, both initially as a means of allowing deep lift patching by reducing the time between compaction and a trafficable layer being achieved. The Quality Assurance testing results for Barrow Island Airport and Adelaide Airport both show no significant difference between the WMA and HMA produced. There should therefore be no reason to delay trials of WMA as a runway and taxiway surfacing at Australian airports. Trials are currently being planned for a Defence airfield as part of a broader runway and taxiway resurfacing projec