A brand-new binder from SAMI Bitumen Technologies has recently been used as part of works on the Kununurra Airport in Western Australia. But how has the product fared? Roads & Infrastructure Magazine hears from COLAS to learn more.
Hybrid modified bitumen itself is not a brand-new concept. But SAMI Bitumen Technologies and parent company COLAS have set out to develop a higher performance alternative to what’s currently available in the market.
Prior to its first major use in the aviation sector, the SAMIfalt I-Brid binder had already been proven to exhibit superior rutting and fatigue resistance characteristics as part of trials and works in Queensland.
Tendering for works on the Kununurra Airport project in Western Australia was seen as the perfect chance to build upon this momentum.
“We were interested in tendering off the back of a successful project we delivered for the Port McQuarrie airport in late 2022,” says Lee Whitehead, State Manager, NSW – COLAS Australia.
“The initial scope of works on the project included upgrades to the current aprons and taxiways. These upgrades aimed to carry the next grade of aircraft. This project and the Port McQuarrie Airport were both for ACG Australia.”
The Kununurra Airport project presented a unique opportunity for COLAS and SAMI Bitumen Technologies, as a potential gateway to the aviation market for widespread use of SAMIfalt I-Brid.
Luke Murphy, NSW Mobile Project and Technical Manager – COLAS Australia says the product is ideally suited for high stress applications, as the product was in part developed to cater for aviation applications such as airports.
“Essentially SAMIfalt I-Brid was born out of a partnership between SAMI and RMIT University. It’s a modified binder designed to essentially be equal to, or exceed, the performance properties of standard polymer modified binders typically used in the Australian market,” he says.
“Development and use of this product specifically had airports in mind, as its superior in performance categories such as fuel resistance, which is a really important factor for the aviation industry.”
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Murphy says one of the biggest learnings from the project was the use of the product in a remote setting.
“It’s not typical that you have to coordinate a three day binder haul into a job, having to coordinate and time the right quantities with production,” he says.
Whitehead adds that these “unknowns” have helped to establish a precedent for future use of the product.
“We were going into unknown territory in some respects, because we know that standard bitumen travels pretty well, stores pretty well and can be returned pretty well,” he says.
“We needed to find out how a hybrid was going to react. There’s obviously been extensive work in laboratories that can give you a good indication, but it’s very difficult to replicate real life.”
Whitehead says the product travelled well and, in some respects, “probably better than some other products”.
“It stored really well. We ended up with four bitumen tanks between the first visit and the second visit and it stored perfectly. When we went back for the second visit, the product was just as good as it was when it was first delivered. The overall learnings of the project was that the product was fantastic,” he says.
“It survived the extremes that we put it through, and now we know that we can push it even further.”
For COLAS, the product matched and even in some aspects, exceeded their expectations around transport, durability and performance.
“We essentially needed to produce the binder at the binder terminal, test it to achieve conformance at the point of manufacture and then hold onto that binder for three days, moving the temperature up and down,” Murphy says.
“We then had to actually completely turn the binder heating storage tank off and reheat it back up from cold and essentially achieve conformance again. That’s a simplified explanation but there’s a variety of complex challenges amongst all of that.
“It’s a very durable and forgiving binder. It needs to travel well, and be conforming at the point of delivery and production. It ticked all of those boxes and even probably exceeded our expectations.”
Murphy says feedback from the client (ACG Australia) reflects these findings.
“The homogeneity and the compatibility were standout features. We heard that it also looked very good, very tight and consistent. Very homogeneous,” he says. “It visually appeared equal or superior to what they were expecting.”
In terms of the future, COLAS will be aiming for further use of the product in aviation applications, as well as general road and infrastructure works.
“We’ll be pushing this product in most aviation applications going forward, especially as a binder replacement. Any jobs that require high performance and for roads that are prone to challenges, it would definitely be a worthwhile alternative to consider given that it performs greater than typical products available on the market,” Whitehead says.
This article was originally published in the December edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here.