Fibre Reinforced Micro-Surfacing

Mahua Bharatpur Expressways Limited in the State of Rajasthan

Project and Presentation Brief
• Mahua Bharatpur Expressways Limited (MBEL) is a
Contents 57km long Toll Road on NH21 between Agra and
Jaipur
• Introduction • PCOD of the Project was issued on 30th May 2009
• Execution Strategy • First Cycle of Periodic Maintenance (PM) was
• Initial Performance completed in 2016
• Performance Till Now (NSV results) • Heavy deterioration of pavement on one side (RHS)
• Conclusion – Impact on Indian Roads Sector due to movement of overloaded trucks and good
pavement condition on the other side

2
Introduction
18.16 19.72
Vehicle Damage Factor Pavement, Traffic and
(VDF) 10.05 Climate
5.69
3.84 3.91
1.2 1.27 1.85 3.12 • High traffic volume –
>5500 CVPD
LCV BUS 2-Axle 3-Axle MAV
(3500 are MAVs - mostly
LHS
Remaining Life – Left carriageway (MSA) RHS 5 to 6-axle Trucks)
• Skewed lane distribution
of traffic and VDF -
Remaining life, MSA

120
Relatively lower axle
80 loads on left side
40 carriageway
• Better pavement
0
62.295 66.8196 71.0712 75.2295 79.5364 84.2493 88.4895 92.5892 96.8953 101.1664105.3243109.9224114.1806118.2564 performance of Left side
Chainage carriageway - both
Roughness – Left Carriageway structurally and
functionally
(mm/km)
3000
• Extreme temperatures
Roughness (mm/km)

2500
2000 variation
1500
1000
• Conventional BC overlay
500 on LHS would mean
0
63 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 1 3 5 7 9 1 3 5 7 9 wastage of natural
10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 11
resources and higher
Inner lane Outer lane emissions
We were therefore looking for a sacrificial layer with exceptional properties to protect the structurally
3
sound pavement crust with minimal routine maintenance
Micro-surfacing v/s Fibre Reinforced Micro-surfacing
 Micro-Surfacing is composed of modified bituminous emulsion, mineral aggregate, water
and other additives
 Its purpose is to improve surface friction, fill ruts/minor surface irregularities and seal
pavement surface

 Fibre based micro-surfacing is the next stage of micro-surfacing where prechopped glass
fibres added to tailor made polymer modified emulsion based conventional micro-surfacing
 The presence of glass fibre helps in enhancing the flexural strength of the micro-surfacing
mix and thereby significantly improves the crack resistance and long-term durability

Test Sample Average Flex (mm) Range of Results Fibre Reinforced Micro-surfacing
Conventional Micro-surfacing 9 5-15
Fibre based Micro-surfacing 54.5 34-95
Source: Downers report, Australia
Strategy Adopted for Second Cycle of MBEL PM
• Design Traffic (MSA) for LHS: 51
• Design Traffic (MSA) for RHS: 118
• Milling of distressed sections and profile correction
• DBM & BC with PMB for rehabilitation of RHS and LHS; along with Cold-in-Place Recycling with foamed
bitumen and emulsion for around 12km on RHS
• Fibre reinforced Micro-surfacing for overlay of LHS
• Conventional BC with tailor made PMB for overlay of RHS

119.600 83.000 RHS 68.000

BC with PMB Overlay Cold-in-Place Recycling (foamed)+DBM+BC BC with PMB Overlay

Median

Fibre Reinforced Micro-surfacing BC with PMB overlay Fibre Reinforced Micro-surfacing

90.000 LHS 79.000 62.295

Tailor made PMB70(E)-10 has been used for rehabilitation as well as for overlay works, 5
which is even before publishing current PMB standards
Formulation of Fibre Reinforced Micro-surfacing
• Reactivity and quality of
aggregates are checked using
Methylene Blue (MB) test and
Sand Equivalent test
• MB value to be 12 and Sand
Equivalent test result to be 78;
which indicates cleaner
aggregate and suits requirement
• Tailor made emulsion is
formulated at IIT Madras
research park based on the
reactivity of aggregates
• Mix design of fibre reinforced
micro-surfacing for the climate
and traffic
• Wet track abrasion and wet
cohesion tests were carried out
to understand the laboratory
performance of the mix
• Results showed that the mix is
less vulnerable to abrasion as
well as it sets swiftly and helps
in allowing traffic quickly
6
Execution of Fibre
Reinforced Micro-
Surfacing
Immediately after laying After 5 minutes After 10 minutes
• Project Management Consultant (PMC)
was appointed to conduct day-to-day
quality control tests
• Hand mixes were carried out daily to
understand the breaking and setting
times of the mix
• Based on the prevailing atmospheric
conditions, water content, filler
content and additive doses were After 15 minutes After 30 minutes After 60 minutes
adjusted

7
Performance Observed - Roughness
December 2019
3000
BC
Roughness(mm/km)

2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119

Chainage (km)

LHS Inner LHS Outer

July 2020
BC
3000
Roughness, mm/km

2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119

Chainage (km)

LHS Inner LHS Outer

• Roughness of fibre reinforced micro-surfacing and BC is almost same and is much lower when compared to the CA
stipulated limit of 3000mm/km
• Average roughness of fibre reinforced micro-surfacing section is 1540mm/km where as for BC section is 1470mm/km
Performance Observed – Pavement Condition Index (PCI)
100
Pavement Condition Index (PCI)

80

60

40

20

0
62.36 64.16 65.96 67.76 69.56 71.36 73.16 74.96 76.76 78.56 80.36 82.16 83.96 85.76 87.56 89.36 91.16 92.96 94.76 96.56 98.36 100.16101.96103.76105.56107.36109.16110.96112.76114.56116.36118.15

Chainage (km)
100
Pavement Condition Index (PCI)

80

60

40

20

0
62.36 64.16 65.96 67.76 69.56 71.36 73.16 74.96 76.76 78.56 80.36 82.16 83.96 85.76 87.56 89.36 91.16 92.96 94.76 96.56 98.36 100.16101.96103.76105.56107.36109.16110.96112.76114.56116.36118.15

Chainage (km)
• PCI, estimated based on various distresses observed using state-of-the-art Network Survey Vehicle (NSV), by the
procedure listed in ASTM D6433
• PCI for most of the section of fibre reinforced micro-surfacing is excellent, as there are no major distresses observed in
these sections
Conclusion – Impact on Indian Highways
• When laid on top of structurally sound
pavements, due to high flexural strength,
performance of Fibre reinforced micro-
surfacing, is as good as the PMB-BC
• As part of this research, we observed similar
performance when laid directly on top of DBM
• Since it is a cold mix technology, there would be
minimal emissions, improved traffic safety (by
reducing work zone conflicts) and also savings in
project cost as well as natural resources as it is
very thin compared to conventional BC overlays
• Hence, for structurally sound pavement, it can
be used as an alternative wearing course to the
conventional hot mix overlays Source: https://roadresource.org/treatment_resources/micro_surfacing

What does this do to Indian Road Sector?

It would substantially enhance functional performance of structurally sound pavements, optimise life cycle cost (when
carried out at right time) without any special skill/knowledge and also a sustainable solution for the planned perpetual
pavements
Thank You