Asphalts news

Repsol participates in the first innovative public acquisition project executed by OHL for rehabilitating the Port of Huelva

Asphalt News 05/02/2016
Mooring in a port
Paving trucks at work

As part of the improvement project carried out in the Port of Huelva, the Huelva Port Authority issued a tender for the project "Ultra-thin reinforcements for heavy traffic conditions and low rolling noise" as an Innovative Public Acquisition within the FEDER Operational Program Research, Development and Innovation for and by Enterprises - Technology Fund 2007-2013. This project was awarded to the construction company OHL, which presented a series of proposals that fulfilled the requirements included in the objective of the project based on the design of ultra-thin bituminous mixtures while providing low rolling noise.

The project was divided into three phases, in two of which the actions carried out were based on the application of bituminous mixtures and the third corresponded to an action using concrete as paving material.

The construction company which won the tender based its proposal on the application of bituminous mixes which, in addition to fulfilling the requirements— support heavy traffic and reduce rolling noise — opted for environmentally-friendly solutions by using materials such as crumb rubber from STs and bituminous binders that can be used at lower temperatures.

The proposals for the phases using bituminous mixtures were based on the design of SMA-type bituminous mixtures with varying maximum aggregate sizes, characterized by their high binder content in the mixture. In order to achieve the most outstanding features in these types of mixtures, it is very important to include polymer-modified bitumens capable of forming a homogeneous mixture and with the necessary consistency to prevent run-off in the formula. 

Therefore, Repsol's participation consisted of the supply of PMB 45/80-65-type polymer-modified bitumens which, due to their characteristics, enable the manufacture of mixtures with greater mechanical and functional features that make it possible to support the demands of heavy traffic, providing greater durability. Additionally and covering the environmental proposal, a PMB 45/80-65-type polymer-modified bitumen with the same characteristics as conventional polymer-modified binder was also supplied, but with the peculiarity that it can be used at lower temperatures, providing improvements for both the environment and for workers during application.