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4 Reasons Foam Bitumen Stabilisation is Perfect for Paving Rehabilitation

13 May 2020 by Jimmy Soto

Foam bitumen stabilisation (FBS) is a pavement treatment option that is becoming an increasingly popular way to rehabilitate old paving services. When a paving service reaches the end of its serviceable life, you can either replace it completely or use one of several methods to restore it, and FBS is one of the best options. Essentially, foamed bitumen is created by combining water with hot bitumen at high temperatures. The result can be combined with mineral aggregate.

Here are just a few reasons why it's the ideal option for rehabilitating old paving surfaces.

1. Minimal Downtime

Since the rehabilitation of old paving generally means closing down a section that is currently in use, you'll naturally want to minimize the amount of time taken to bring things back to order and the amount of time that section will be out of use. FBS is perfect because the process itself is extremely fast and efficient. It doesn't require anything in the way of heavy construction equipment, so newly constructed layers won't be damaged during construction. The finished paving layer can be trafficked almost right away.

2. Eco-Friendly

With the whole paving industry becoming increasingly aware of how the choices we make impact the Earth, it makes sense of use the most eco-friendly paving rehabilitation option possible. FBS ticks that box since it conserves current aggregate resources. The fact that minimal heavy construction equipment is required also helps reduce the consumption of resources, and it's always going to be more eco-friendly to bring troublesome sections of paving back to life instead of simply ripping them up.

3. Strong Yet Flexible

Material treated with bitumen will act similar to the original. However, it will boast improved cohesive strength and offer reduced sensitivity to moisture since the bitumen will create a rich mortar between smaller, coarser particles. At the same time, the material will offer exceptional flexural strength, so it will be less likely to develop cracks in the future even when subjected to heavy loads on a regular basis.

4. Similar Appearance

One common misconception surrounding FBS is that the final product will have the appearance of a hot-mix asphalt. In fact, instead of looking black and sticky, bitumen treated paving is only going to look slightly darker in colour than the original. Maintaining a similar appearance might not be strictly necessary, but it's always nice to provide a more seamless transition between old and new.

To learn more about foam bitumen, contact a paving contractor.

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