Skip to main content

Improving road stabilisation techniques

Stabiliser/recycling machines are now well proven in road construction applications, giving a stable base layer on which to lay asphalt layers. A wide variety of technologies have been developed to help optimise this process and one proven road stabilisation product called Pavmax that has been used successfully in various markets including Latin America is now being made available worldwide. Introduced by NTI Holdings, Pavmax is a proprietary concentrated liquid, with a multi-enzymatic formulation that
October 3, 2014 Read time: 4 mins
Applying Pavmax is said to be easy as it can be mixed with water and sprayed on using a conventional bowser vehicle
Stabiliser/recycling machines are now well proven in road construction applications, giving a stable base layer on which to lay asphalt layers. A wide variety of technologies have been developed to help optimise this process and one proven road stabilisation product called Pavmax that has been used successfully in various markets including Latin America is now being made available worldwide.

Introduced by 8893 ELJ Technologies, Pavmax is a proprietary concentrated liquid, with a multi-enzymatic formulation that is intended to alter soil properties. Non-toxic and environmentally safe, the Pavmax product can offer effective road base stabilisation in an array of applications. According to the company, this allows improved methods for building or maintaining roads or highways, with the ability to cut costs by up to 40% compared with earlier generation road construction methods. A key feature of the product is that it is easy to apply, while it also does away with the need for any special equipment. As long as the compaction machines used for a job are used to the required specification, NTI Holdings says that any new or existing roads treated with Pavmax will feature a strong and highly durable base structure that requires less maintenance.
The product is said to lower the surface tension of water, promoting a fast and thorough dispersal of moisture. The company says that this action results in hydrated clay particles filling the voids throughout the solid, forming a tight, dense and permanent layer. By using Pavmax the company claims that required soil density can be achieved with less compaction effort, due to the increased lubricity of the soil particles. This product also helps reduce the quantity of water required during base layer preparation to achieve optimum moisture levels by up to 25%, a key issue on worksites at altitude or in remote areas where a convenient water source may not be readily available. Another cost-saving benefit is that the Pavmax product can reduce the need for hauling fresh aggregate to site, as the existing soil can become the road base as long as there are sufficient cohesive fines present. And for those applications where aggregates are required, lower cost dirty materials (with 15-20% cohesive fines passing a 200 screen) can be used as the dirty fines will help bond the structure together.
Both new and existing roads can be treated with Pavmax and the product is said to provide a durable structure that will require minimal maintenance. A wide array of applications can be achieved as Pavmax can be used on sites with ambient temperatures from near-freezing up to hot summer. It is highly versatile as it can be used in rainy climates or dry deserts, alongside dykes on mountains or underground. The firm says the product has been well-proven in an array of applications including runway construction, major highways, secondary roads, gravel roads, dirt roads, stabilising large (parking) areas and securing embankments and ditches. In the Brazilian city of Manaus, Pavmax was used to provide a stable base structure during the upgrade of various road links in the run up to the 2014 World Cup held earlier this year, as well as for the upcoming 2016 Olympics.

The Pavmax product is a water-based liquid enzyme in concentrate form that is said to be highly stable, environmentally safe and easy to handle as it is not a skin irritant, is non-corrosive, non-carcinogenic and biodegradable. The firm says however that it is necessary to avoid high temperatures and either high or low pH values when handling the product. As it is water-based, containers that have held the Pavmax product can be washed easily and then recycled for other uses if required.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Copenhagen eyes tamped soil sound barriers
    August 23, 2022
    Surplus and excavated soil could help with a construction material shortage in Denmark.
  • Booming Chinese aggregate demand
    February 22, 2013
    Global demand for construction aggregates is set to increase 5.2% a year until 2015 to 48.3 billion tonnes, according to research by The Freedonia Group in the United States. The same source tips China alone to account for half of all new aggregate demand worldwide in the period 2010-2015. Guy Woodford reports on the growing importance of the Asian aggregates market. China is already the biggest nation for aggregate production and use in the world, and the competition among the giants of aggregate productio
  • New blasthole drillrigs from Sandvik
    December 8, 2014
    Sandvik is broadening its tophammer drill rig range with the introduction of two new models, the Pantera DPi 6.0 and Dino DC400Ri. The Pantera DPi 6.0 is a further development of the well-proven DPi series and now features a redesigned operating system combined with a completely new rockdrill. The redesigned control system has an updated user interface and touch screen, with support for new drill rig options and improved troubleshooting functions. In addition this revamped control system comes with improved
  • Cellular Confinement Systems Get “Tough”
    May 10, 2012
    An Interview with PRS-Med’s VP of Business Development and Marketing Hadas Levin by Chris Kelsey The year 1977 has become a watershed year for polymeric construction materials. Dr. J.P. Giroud coined the terms ‘geotextile’ and ‘geomembrane’ in a key paper at the First International Conference on Geosynthetics; and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) published a report on its testing of cellular confinement systems (first undertaken in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1975). The investigations in Mis