Pavement milling

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Asphalt road being milled in preparation for repaving Road repaving.jpg
Asphalt road being milled in preparation for repaving

Pavement milling (cold planing, asphalt milling, or profiling) is the process of removing at least part of the surface of a paved area such as a road, bridge, or parking lot. Milling removes anywhere from just enough thickness to level and smooth the surface to a full depth removal. There are a number of different reasons for milling a paved area instead of simply repaving over the existing surface.

Contents

Purpose

Recycling of the road surface is one of the main reasons for milling a road surface. Milling is widely used for pavement recycling today, where the pavement is removed and ground up to be used as the aggregate in new pavement. [1] For asphalt surfaces the product of milling is reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), which can be recycled in the asphalt hot mix asphalt (pavement) by combining with new aggregate and asphalt cement (binder) or a recycling agent. [1] This reduces the impact that resurfacing has on the environment.

Milling can also remove distresses from the surface, providing a better driving experience and/or longer roadway life. Some of the issues that milling can remove include: [2]

It can also be used to control or change the height of part or all of the road. This can be done to control heights and clearances of other road structures such as: curb reveals, manhole and catch basin heights, shoulder and guardrail heights, and overhead clearances. [2] It can also be done to change the slope or camber of the road or for grade adjustments which can help with drainage. [7]

Specialty

Modified roto-mill head for dowel bar retrofit Modified roto-mill head for dowel bar retrofit.jpg
Modified roto-mill head for dowel bar retrofit
Dowel bar retrofit slots after the milling Dowel Bar Retrofit before grinding.jpg
Dowel bar retrofit slots after the milling

Specialty milling can be used to form rumble strips which are often used along highways. [8] Using milling instead of other methods, such as rolling them in, means that the rumble strips can be added at any time after the road surface has hardened. [8]

Another example is to modify the roto-milling head to create slots in concrete slabs for the dowel bar retrofit process. The typical process is to saw cut and jackhammer out the slots for the dowels. Following dowel placement, the slots are then typically backfilled with a non-shrink concrete mixture, and the pavement is diamond-ground to restore smoothness. This special milling process shortens the time to create slots from the traditional method which is labor-intensive. [9]

Types

In the USA, the Asphalt Recycling and Reclaiming Association has defined five classes of cold planing that the Federal Highway Administration has recognized. The classes are:

Process and machinery

Asphalt Milling Machine Asphalt Milling Machine.jpg
Asphalt Milling Machine

Milling is performed by construction equipment called milling machines or cold planers [10] . These machines use a large rotating drum to remove and grind the road surface. The drum consists of scrolls of tool holders. [2] The scrolls are positioned around the drum such that the ground pavement is moved toward the center and can be loaded onto the machine's conveyor belt. [2] The tool holders can wear out over time and can be broken if highway structures like manholes are encountered while milling. [2]

The tool holders on the drum hold carbide cutters. [2] The cutters can be removed and replaced as they wear out. The amount of wear (and therefore the interval between replacement) varies with the type and consistency of the material being milled; intervals can range from a few hours to several days. [2]

The drum is enclosed in a housing/scrapper that is used to contain the milled material to be collected and deposited on the conveyor. [2] The spacing of the tool spirals around the drum affect the end surface of the road, with micro-milling having the tightest spacing. [2]

The majority of milling machines use an up-cut setup which means that the drum rotates in the direction opposite that of the drive wheel or tracks, (i.e. work surface feeds into the cut). [11] The speed of the rotating drum should be slower than the forward speed of the machine for a suitable finished surface. [2]

Modern machines generally use a front-loading conveyor system that have the advantage of picking up any material that falls off the conveyor as milling progresses. [1] Water is generally applied to the drum as it spins, because of the heat generated during the milling process. Additionally, water helps control the dust created. [2] In order to control the depth, slopes, and profile of the final milled surface many millers now have automatic depth control using lasers, string-lines, or other methods to maintain milled surfaces to ±5 mm (0.20 in) of the target height. [7]

Pavement milling drums WIR..1-3655B.jpg
Pavement milling drums

Micro milling

Micro milling is also known as carbide grinding. It is a lower cost alternative to diamond grinding of pavement. [2] Micro milling uses a specialty drum with three to four times as many cutting teeth than a standard milling drum. [12] Micro milling can be used either as the final surface [13] or as a treatment before applying a thin overlay. [12] Micro milling can be used to remove many of the same distresses that standard milling can remove, although usually to a shallower depth. [13] A micro milled surface has a uniform finish with reduced road noise compared to standard milling. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitumen</span> Form of petroleum primarily used in road construction

Bitumen is an immensely viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In the U.S., the material is commonly referred to as asphalt. Whether found in natural deposits or refined from petroleum, the substance is classed as a pitch. Prior to the 20th century the term asphaltum was in general use. The word derives from the ancient Greek ἄσφαλτος ásphaltos, which referred to natural bitumen or pitch. The largest natural deposit of bitumen in the world, estimated to contain 10 million tons, is the Pitch Lake of southwest Trinidad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road</span> Land route for travel by vehicles

A road is a thoroughfare for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles and pedestrians. Unlike streets, whose primary function is to serve as public spaces, the main function of roads is transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highway engineering</span> Civil engineering of roads, bridges, and tunnels

Highway engineering is a professional engineering discipline branching from the civil engineering subdiscipline of transportation engineering that involves the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of roads, highways, streets, bridges, and tunnels to ensure safe and effective transportation of people and goods. Highway engineering became prominent towards the latter half of the 20th century after World War II. Standards of highway engineering are continuously being improved. Highway engineers must take into account future traffic flows, design of highway intersections/interchanges, geometric alignment and design, highway pavement materials and design, structural design of pavement thickness, and pavement maintenance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road surface</span> Road covered with durable surface material

A road surface or pavement is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, macadam, hoggin, cobblestone and granite setts were extensively used, but these have mostly been replaced by asphalt or concrete laid on a compacted base course. Asphalt mixtures have been used in pavement construction since the beginning of the 20th century and are of two types: metalled (hard-surfaced) and unmetalled roads. Metalled roadways are made to sustain vehicular load and so are usually made on frequently used roads. Unmetalled roads, also known as gravel roads, are rough and can sustain less weight. Road surfaces are frequently marked to guide traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asphalt concrete</span> Composite material used for paving

Asphalt concrete is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parking lots, airports, and the core of embankment dams. Asphalt mixtures have been used in pavement construction since the beginning of the twentieth century. It consists of mineral aggregate bound together with bitumen, laid in layers, and compacted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Permeable paving</span> Roads built with water-pervious materials

Permeable paving surfaces are made of either a porous material that enables stormwater to flow through it or nonporous blocks spaced so that water can flow between the gaps. Permeable paving can also include a variety of surfacing techniques for roads, parking lots, and pedestrian walkways. Permeable pavement surfaces may be composed of; pervious concrete, porous asphalt, paving stones, or interlocking pavers. Unlike traditional impervious paving materials such as concrete and asphalt, permeable paving systems allow stormwater to percolate and infiltrate through the pavement and into the aggregate layers and/or soil below. In addition to reducing surface runoff, permeable paving systems can trap suspended solids, thereby filtering pollutants from stormwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toner</span> Powder mixture in laser printers

Toner is a powder mixture used in laser printers and photocopiers to form the printed text and images on paper, in general through a toner cartridge. Mostly granulated plastic, early mixtures added only carbon powder and iron oxide, however, mixtures have since been developed containing polypropylene, fumed silica, and various minerals for triboelectrification. Toner using plant-derived plastic also exists as an alternative to petroleum plastic. Toner particles are melted by the heat of the fuser, and are thus bonded to the paper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pothole</span> Road surface disruption type

A pothole is a depression in a road surface, usually asphalt pavement, where traffic has removed broken pieces of the pavement. It is usually the result of water in the underlying soil structure and traffic passing over the affected area. Water first weakens the underlying soil; traffic then fatigues and breaks the poorly supported asphalt surface in the affected area. Continued traffic action ejects both asphalt and the underlying soil material to create a hole in the pavement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumble strip</span> Road safety feature

Rumble strips are a road safety feature to alert inattentive drivers of potential danger, by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through the wheels into the vehicle interior. A rumble strip is applied along the direction of travel following an edgeline or centerline, to alert drivers when they drift from their lane. Rumble strips may also be installed in a series across the direction of travel, to warn drivers of a stop or slowdown ahead, or of an approaching danger spot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road surface marking</span> Any kind of device or material used on a road surface to convey official information

Road surface marking is any kind of device or material that is used on a road surface in order to convey official information; they are commonly placed with road marking machines. They can also be applied in other facilities used by vehicles to mark parking spaces or designate areas for other uses. In some countries and areas, road markings are conceived as horizontal traffic signs, as opposed to vertical traffic signs placed on posts.

Full depth recycling or full depth reclamation (FDR) is a process that rebuilds worn out asphalt pavements by recycling the existing roadway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concrete recycling</span> Re-use of rubble from demolished concrete structures

Concrete recycling is the use of rubble from demolished concrete structures. Recycling is cheaper and more ecological than trucking rubble to a landfill. Crushed rubble can be used for road gravel, revetments, retaining walls, landscaping gravel, or raw material for new concrete. Large pieces can be used as bricks or slabs, or incorporated with new concrete into structures, a material called urbanite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dowel bar retrofit</span> Highway crack treatment

A dowel bar retrofit (DBR) is a method of reinforcing cracks in highway pavement by inserting steel dowel bars in slots cut across the cracks. It is a technique which several U.S. states' departments of transportation have successfully used in repairs to address faulting in older jointed plain concrete pavements. The typical approach is to saw cut and jackhammer out the slots for the dowels. Following dowel placement the slots are then typically backfilled with a non-shrink concrete mixture, and the pavement is diamond-ground to restore smoothness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asphalt shingle</span> Type of shingle

An asphalt shingle is a type of wall or roof shingle that uses asphalt for waterproofing. It is one of the most widely used roofing covers in North America because it has a relatively inexpensive up-front cost and is fairly simple to install.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paver (vehicle)</span> Construction equipment used to lay asphalt

A paver is a piece of construction equipment used to lay asphalt concrete or Portland cement concrete on roads, bridges, parking lots and other such places. It lays the material flat and provides minor compaction. This is typically followed by final compaction by a road roller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chipseal</span> Pavement surface treatment

Chipseal is a pavement surface treatment that combines one or more layer(s) of asphalt with one or more layer(s) of fine aggregate. In the United States, chipseals are typically used on rural roads carrying lower traffic volumes, and the process is often referred to as asphaltic surface treatment. This type of surface has a variety of other names including tar-seal or tarseal, tar and chip, sprayed sealsurface dressing, or simply seal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stone mastic asphalt</span> Road construction material

Stone mastic asphalt (SMA), also called stone-matrix asphalt, was developed in Germany in the 1960s with the first SMA pavements being placed in 1968 near Kiel. It provides a deformation-resistant, durable surfacing material, suitable for heavily trafficked roads. SMA has found use in Europe, Australia, the United States, and Canada as a durable asphalt surfacing option for residential streets and highways. SMA has a high coarse aggregate content that interlocks to form a stone skeleton that resists permanent deformation. The stone skeleton is filled with a mastic of bitumen and filler to which fibres are added to provide adequate stability of bitumen and to prevent drainage of binder during transport and placement. Typical SMA composition consists of 70−80% coarse aggregate, 8−12% filler, 6.0−7.0% binder, and 0.3 per cent fibre.

Concrete pavement restoration (CPR) together with concrete pavement preservation (CPP) is a group of various techniques used to maintain concrete roadways.

Diamond grinding is a pavement preservation technique that corrects a variety of surface imperfections on both concrete and asphalt concrete pavements. Most often utilized on concrete pavement, diamond grinding is typically performed in conjunction with other concrete pavement preservation (CPP) techniques such as road slab stabilization, full- and partial-depth repair, dowel bar retrofit, cross stitching longitudinal cracks or joints and joint and crack resealing. Diamond grinding restores rideability by removing surface irregularities caused during construction or through repeated traffic loading over time. The immediate effect of diamond grinding is a significant improvement in the smoothness of a pavement. Another important effect of diamond grinding is the considerable increase in surface macrotexture and consequent improvement in skid resistance, noise reduction and safety.

Soil stabilizers and road recyclers are engineering vehicles that were once similar machines; however, they are now specialised pieces of road making machinery and have developed into different machines. Other terms that are sometimes used are: road profiler, road reclaimer, road miller, road planer and pavement profiler. They are used in the process of full depth recycling.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Pavement Recycling Guidelines for State and Local Governments Participant's Reference Book". United States Department of Transportation – Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Cold Planing" (PDF). Asphalt Reclaim & Recycling Association. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  3. "Raveling". Pavement Interactive. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  4. Lawson, William. "Maintenance Solutions for Bleeding and Flushed Pavements" (PDF). Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Asphalt Pavement Distress Summary". asphalt Institute. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  6. WSAV Staff; Liz Buckthorpe; Will Nunley; Ansley Christian (November 22, 2013). "3 Brothers Dead In Crash; Tanker Explosion". WSAV. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Cold Planing" (PDF). Pavement Work Tips. Australian Asphalt Pavement Association. July 1997. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  8. 1 2 Butler, Kendal (June 19, 2013). "Rumble strips keep drivers on the road". Asphalt: The Magazine of the Asphalt Institute. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  9. "OKDOT Combines Pavement Rehabilitation Techniques". Research & Technology Transporter. Federal Highway Administration. October 1999.
  10. Maven, Asphalt (September 19, 2023). "Asphalt Milling: What It Is And Why You Need It?" . Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  11. Better Roads Magazine. "COLD PLANING STUDY". Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association. Better Roads Magazine.
  12. 1 2 Brown, Dan (Spring 2012). "Fine-Mill Pavements for Smooth Thin Overlays". Pavement Preservation Journal. 5 (3): 27. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Wisdom, Brooke. "The Power of Milling". Better Roads. Retrieved November 29, 2013.

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