Paving a Japanese airport within strict time constraints

In Japan, major efforts are being made to both conserve energy and materials, while also delivering high quality airport runways. At Haneda Airport, as well as at the Fukuoka, Chitose and Sendai airports, innovative use is being made of asphalt paving equipment from Sumitomo. The latest model HA60W J paver from Sumitomo is being used to lay warm mix asphalt, while the contractors is also using sophisticated control technology. To minimise disruption to flight schedules, construction work at Haneda has been
September 19, 2012 Read time: 4 mins
At Haneda airport 10 Sumitomo pavers were used simultaneously to lay the entire runway width and benefit from hot to hot joints for long surface life

In Japan, major efforts are being made to both conserve energy and materials, while also delivering high quality airport runways. At Haneda Airport, as well as at the Fukuoka, Chitose and Sendai airports, innovative use is being made of asphalt paving equipment from Sumitomo. The latest model HA60W J paver from Sumitomo is being used to lay warm mix asphalt, while the contractors is also using sophisticated control technology.

To minimise disruption to flight schedules, construction work at Haneda has been carried out during the night and this has included working at low temperatures on occasion. Work has started at around 11:00pm, with cutting out the areas for repairs, followed by laying of the binder course and surface course. Time constraints mean that by 5:00am in the morning, all of the work has to be complete and all machinery removed from the site to allow aircraft movements. For airport maintenance and repair work, punctual working is essential as heavy costs can be incurred should flights be delayed. With such constraints, warm mix asphalt combined with sophisticated paving controls are required to meet the efficiency, quality, cost reduction, and environmental conservation, needs of the application.

One key to the work has been the use of 2714 SUMITOMO’s HA60W J-paver with its novel screed design, which can be extended freely from a minimum paving width of 2.3m to a maximum 6m without the need for a bolt-on extension screed. This saves time by eliminating the need for fitting the extensions and also delivers a high quality surface. The machine is also easy to transport as its width can be reduced using a control on the dash to 2.5m, even with accessories such as sideplates attached. This also allows more time for paving work, as the machine can be made ready to transport away from the site very quickly.

At Haneda Airport, up to 50m was paved simultaneously using a hot to hot joint technique, with 10 HA60Ws working at once. The screed is equipped with tamper, vibrator, and strike-off, allowing the use of various kinds of asphalt mix. In addition, the machine was used successfully in a thick lift pavement of binder course averaging 140mm at Fukuoka Airport. The material used was warm mix asphalt with 20mmT surface course and 30mmT binder course, resulting in an even surface finish without segregation. The paver can also be used with all of the latest paving controls, as well as advanced software tools, to maximise accuracy and efficiency.

For the airport work, screed height adjustment has been controlled automatically by a system combining either GNSS and laser guidance, or using positioning data obtained from a total station and 3D design information. Using this equipment has eliminated the need for conventional sensors, reducing the risk of human error and increasing accuracy, while removing the need for staking out the site and offering benefits for night-time working as a result.

Paving controls do away with preparation time needed for conventional sensors and provide more time for paving, while accuracy is increased, reducing material losses.

The use of warm mix asphalt (WMA) offers particular benefits for night-time working, which was why this material was used for these airport jobs. With warm mix, paving temperatures are reduced by 30-50°C when compared to conventional hot mix asphalt, while WMA can also be compacted effectively at lower temperatures, leaving a longer time window for paving crews. This reduces logistics problems for materials supply as well as increasing the paving period through the year.

Once laid, WMA can help reduce the incidence of rutting type deformations that can occur with conventional asphalt during hot weather under heavy loads. And importantly, the curing period is reduced after paving the binder course, while WMA also means that the site can be opened at an earlier stage after laying the surface course. Using WMA provides more time for paving and suits the use of the material to time-dependent airport construction operations. In addition, WMA also offers environmental benefits due to the lower energy profile required during its use.
Asphalt milling, paving & compaction

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Airport's high demands on asphalt and concrete techniques
    July 11, 2012
    Airport runway, taxiway and parking areas make high demands on paving requirements, both with concrete and asphalt techniques. Mike Woof reports. High quality surface finishes are required in airport environments for runways, taxiways and aircraft parking areas. Because of the speed at which aircraft take off and land and the massive forces exerted due to the weight of the aircraft, particularly during landing, runway structures need to be incredibly strong. The surfaces also have to be constructed to very
    Read More
  • Hot-to-hot paving upgrades Bremen City Airport runway
    September 30, 2013
    A new high quality runway surface has been laid at Bremen City Airport. This has provided a much-needed replacement at the airport as the old runway was laid over 20 years ago and was suffering from cracking and potholes. Laying the new surface required the airport to be closed, with the work having to be carried out in a tight time schedule. Contractor Heitkamp Erd- und Straßenbau was brought in to carry out the work as the firm had experience in runway rehabilitation projects having carried out pavemen
    Read More
  • Asphalt paving advances being developed
    April 20, 2018
    Sumitomo is offering a series of special pavers, in addition to its conventional units. The modified machines are aimed at a range of specific applications and are based on the standard models. The HTP60W is a tack coat paver based on the standard HA60W model. The machine has the firm’s J- Screed with electric heating as standard and allowing hydraulic extension from 2.3-6m, while compaction is by tamper and vibration. The spraybars allow tack coats to be applied to the full paving width.
    Read More
  • Developments in asphalt paving machines increases competition
    April 10, 2012
    With the asphalt paving segment split broadly into two methods, American or European,. it is no surprise that manufacturers. from these countries have dominated the market for some years. An interesting development in recent times has been seen with various European firms developing asphalt pavers to suit North American needs, including BOMAG, Dynapac and Vögele. Caterpillar and Volvo by comparison both offer both European and US-style pavers, with separate model ranges that have been developed over many ye
    Read More

Highlighted Content