Methods, compositions and systems for enhancing the useful life of a transportation surface

Abstract

Methods, compositions and systems for prolonging the lives of transportation surfaces, including pavement, runways, bridges and parking structures include chemically protecting the transportation surfaces. Chemical protection may be accompanied by physical alteration of the transportation surface, which may enhance one or both of a microtexture and a macrotexture of the transportation surface.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 559,564, filed on Jul. 26, 2012, and titled METHODS, COMPOSITIONS AND SYSTEMS FOR ENHANCING THE USEFUL LIFE OF A TRANSPORTATION SURFACE (“the '564 application”). The '564 application includes a claim for the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 511,603, filed on Jul. 26, 2012, (“the '603 Provisional Application”), and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 643,219, filed on May 4, 2012 (“the '219 Provisional Application”). The entire disclosures of the '564 application, the '603 Provisional Application and the '219 Provisional Application are hereby incorporated herein.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]This disclosure relates generally methods, compositions and systems for prolonging the lives of transportation surfaces, including pavement, runways, bridges and parking structures. More specifically, this disclo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text describes a method for improving the life of a transportation surface by making it more resistant to wear and tear, and increasing its durability. This can be achieved by chemically protecting the surface by applying a hardener / densifier to it. The chemical protection can be done without affecting the surface's friction characteristics. The surface can also be treated with other compounds to prevent scaling, corrosion, or moisture damage. The method can involve both physical alteration and chemical protection, with the chemical protection inhibiting further damage to the physically altered surface. Overall, the patent text provides a way to make transportation surfaces more durable and resistant to damage.

Problems solved by technology

Over time, weather, use, and a variety of other factors diminish the quality of transportation surfaces, including their microtexturing and, often, their macrotexturing.

This is particularly true on diamond ground surfaces, which often lose macrotexturing with age when they are located in climates where wet and freezing conditions are common.

As vehicles travel over transportation surfaces, their tires generate friction that causes those surfaces to wear.

Transportation surfaces that are exposed to harsh conditions (e.g., extremes in weather, prolonged periods of snow and / or ice, etc.) wear particularly quickly.

The damaging effects of wear, water and freeze / thaw cycles cause transportation surfaces to lose their texture (e.g., macrotexture) over time, which may distress the transportation surface.

Initial scaling (i.e., the flaking or peeling of the finished surface) and / or cracking may lead to aggregate pop-outs, which may then lead to spalling.

Once the top of the transportation surface begins to erode, other issues arise, such as early rutting, corrosion of rebar within the transportation surface and alkali silica reactivity (ASR).

Consequently, a retextured transportation surface may be more prone to wear or other damage than a new transportation surface, necessitating the need for further retexturing in a shorter period of time.

It is generally accepted that a transportation surface may be re-profiled up to three times. However, re-profiling may cause fatigue, which may lead to further damage to the transportation surface.

Weather (e.g., freezing and thawing, etc.) and other conditions (e.g., use of de-icing chemicals, the use of tire chains, etc.) may also cause transportation surfaces to crack and / or scale.

Conventionally, cracks and scaling have ultimately lead to more extensive damage to the pavement and have required costly repairs, which often include the removal of material from the top of a transportation surface and the formation of an overlay, or cutting out sections of the transportation surface, along with doweling and replacement.

When retexturing will not restore the desirable characteristics of a transportation surface, more drastic measures must be taken.

These characteristics may reduce the rates at which age, climate conditions (e.g., wet weather, freeze / thaw conditions, etc.), maintenance (e.g., snow removal, deicing, etc.), abrasion and use cause the transportation surface to incur rutting, scaling, cracking, or spalling or to lose skid resistance or otherwise deteriorate.

In other embodiments, the predetermined event may be when wear of the existing transportation surface becomes apparent (e.g., tines on the surface are worn, ruts begin to form on tire paths, etc.), when the microtexture and / or macrotexture of the existing transportation surface is insufficient or when wear on the surface, or surface polishing, renders the existing transportation surface close to unsafe or unsafe (e.g., the surface has an undesirably low skid number, etc.).

More specifically, the certain, or pre-specified condition may be a condition that, over time, is known to cause surface polishing of the existing transportation surface, or that may cause the existing transportation surface to wear or to erode, or otherwise damage the existing transportation surface.

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