INNOVATIVE BITUMEN SPRAYER

Daren Mott Sealing Manager, Fulton Hogan

Abstract
The innovative Multispray bitumen sprayer has been developed which can control the application rates of bitumen in a vehicles wheel paths to enhance seal life and improve safety through improved skid resistance. The new sprayer has twin telescoping spray bars with two sets of spray nozzles on each bar. The computer controlled sprayer can produce detailed spray reports for quality control.

Introduction
Almost exclusively, sealed roads in Queensland are line marked which channels trafc into lanes. The rolling and compaction effect of channelised trafc causes accelerated wear to the road pavement which varies in extent across the width of the road laneway. High vehicle tyre loads and trafc volumes greatly inuence this damaging effect. In highly trafcked areas, the binder in a spray seal may bleed up around the aggregate reducing the macro texture. Other effects that may occur in these conditions are rutting and heaving of the pavement. This can result in a reduction in skid resistance and a reduction in effective seal life.

Figure 1. Bitumen sprayers from old to new

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In problem areas treatment often requires the application of different rates of binder across the pavement. This is just one of the areas where the new technology Multispray bitumen sprayer (Figure 1), has efciency gains over existing technology sprayers. The Multispray bitumen sprayer has been specically designed to apply binder at different rates across the pavement.

Background
Bitumen sprayers operate by pumping hot bitumen ( 175oC) from an insulated tank to a spray bar where it is discharged through a number of nozzles. Austroads have standardised on the use of Copley1 bitumen nozzles. The bitumen pump is typically a positive displacement helical gear pump. By controlling the rotational speed of the pump, the volume of bitumen pumped is controlled. Prior to spraying, the hot bitumen is circulated through the pipe work and spray bar back to the tank to ensure the nozzles and control cocks/valves are heated so that any residual bitumen is adequately softened to allow satisfactory operation of the cocks and nozzles.

The spray nozzles are operated at their rated ow rate to ensure that the fan pattern and ow distribution is consistent. The spray from the nozzles is typically at a 30o angle to the spray bar with the fans overlapping. At any point along the spray bar, the pavement is covered by four separate spray nozzles (ends excluded) (Figure 2). At each end is a special unsymmetrical nozzle which sprays more on one side of the fan than on the other. With all nozzles spraying at their rated capacity, the application rate is controlled by varying the sprayer road speed. For a heavy application the sprayer travels at a slow speed and for a lighter application the sprayer travels at a faster speed. The basic design concept behind the pump-type bitumen sprayer has not changed markedly since its inception. However, the manner in which the pump is driven and controlled has changed markedly, as described below:

Inverted plan view

The early sprayers had a separate auxiliary engine at the rear of the sprayer. These were highly mechanistic machines and required an operator to pull levers, monitor pressure gauges and control pump revolutions from a platform at the rear of the sprayer (1). Depending on prevailing wind conditions, the operator could be engulfed in bitumen and kerosene fumes The next innovation was the replacement of the rear auxiliary engine with a hydraulic drive system. There was no longer a need for an operator at the rear of the sprayer. The variable output hydraulic pumps on these early machines were usually driven from the front of the main engine via a hole cut in the truck radiator. The hydraulic pump protruded beyond the front bumper bar and was protected by a heavy metal guard. The hydraulic pump supplied pressurised oil to a xed displacement hydraulic motor which in turn drove the bitumen pump. The hydraulic pump was later driven from an engine power take off.

3 0

End nozzle (heavier toward outside)

Spray distribution

Figure 2. Conventional spray bar spray patterns

1 A E Copley Enterprises Pty Ltd, Melbourne

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The integration of electronics into the variable output hydraulic pump design permitted the hydraulic pump output ow rate to be controlled electronically. Compressed air actuated spray nozzles in conjunction with electronic circuitry allowed individual spray nozzles to be manually selected by the sprayer operator. The bitumen ow rate was automatically adjusted by the electronics to maintain the preset application rate. A further development was the tting of twin spray bars.

the bar may hit an object and break off (as they are designed to break instead of bend). Apart from the job delays and cost, this could pose a safety issue or an environmental issue if spraying cutback bitumen2.

When the conventional spray bar extensions are folded upward in the vertical position, the spray nozzles face directly outward. When hot bitumen is being circulated through the spray bar with the extensions in the vertical position, a dangerous situation arises if the spray nozzles open unintentionally. When the sprayer is stationary in bar circulate mode with the extension bars down, the extensions are vulnerable to being hit by surrounding equipment or trafc. While the sprayer manoeuvres into the spraying position with the extension bars down, the spray bar is highly susceptible to damage.

Operational shortcomings of a conventional sprayer

A conventional single bar bitumen sprayer applies a uniform rate of binder across the width of the pavement. This method of application often delivers too much binder to the areas where the trafc is concentrated and too little to the lower trafcked areas. This can result in compromise which may reduce surface quality and seal life which equates directly to maintenance expenditure. Hence the seal design in these instances is a compromise and may not provide an optimal solution. This problem can be overcome by multiple runs of the bitumen sprayer; however, there are operational and cost issues with this practice. Existing bitumen sprayers on the market have xed spray bars usually with a 1m taper bar on the driver side of the truck. The taper bar is a xed width spray bar extension with air actuated spray nozzles which can be controlled by the operator to vary the spraying width. The spray bar remains extended out from the sprayer even though the spray width has been reduced. This extended spray bar often protrudes out beyond the edge of the works, which presents problems such as:

Features of Multispray bitumen sprayer

Fulton Hogan's Multispray bitumen sprayer is a revolutionary solution for slowing the surface deterioration of spray sealed pavements. Spray seal surfaces deteriorate at different rates across the width of the lane as a result of varying trafc wear. Multispray provides an innovative solution for binder imbalance that minimisesthe potential for bleeding in the wheel paths. Historically, deterioration of spray sealed pavements is particularly evident where the vehicle wheel path is concentrated and consequently the binder rises to the surface causing maintenance and safety concerns. Multispray provides a long lasting solution that improves the safety and longevity of spray seal pavements by applying binder at varying rates transversely on the pavement, with less binder sprayed in highly trafcked areas. For optimum results this process should be used from the rst seal as this assists in preventing future maintenance problems such as ushing.

the possibility this extension could hit a person or road furniture such as guide posts or guard rails trafc cones may have to be moved to allow for the extension

2 Cut back bitumen can contain up to 50% kerosene.

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On pavements that are already subject to ushing and/or stripping of the aggregate, using varying binder rates can reduce the impact that the reseal will have on the existing seal (Figure 3). This is achieved by designing the reseal specic to the problem areas such as wheel paths. Multispray's variable transverse application rate capability is used in conjunction with a telescoping spray bar and a touch screen computer system to control and customise the amount of binder applied to the pavement. The telescopic spray bar consists of two spray bar sections which move independently of each other, and each section is tted with both high and low ow nozzles (Figures 4, 5).

By using the touch screen system, the operator can select areas of 70, 80, 90 or 100% of the base application rate across the full width of the spray bar. The onboard computer management system will automatically select the appropriate nozzle combinations to achieve the desired prole (Figure 6). While spraying at variable rates, the spray width is able to be adjusted from 0.6m to 5m in width during the run. This means that a precise spray width can be selected for any width of pavement. There is no unused portion of the bar to act as a hazard or restrict trafc and other road users, particularly around pedestrian islands. The system has full data logging capabilities and clients can be provided with detailed spray sheets for the project.

Advantages of Multispray
The Multispray bitumen sprayer provides many distinct advantages including:

prevents/minimises ushing or aggregate loss by applying the appropriate amount of binder for each point across the width of the lane in a single pass. This improves the economic life of the seal and safety for road users has the ability to have a preset second programme which permits a change to the primary application rate during the spray run without stopping a solution for seals with existing ushing in the wheel path as they can be sprayed with varying rates of binder in the one pass; providing time efciency, improved quality at longitudinal joints and minimising disruption to road users improves safety when spraying as the telescopic bar is adjusted to the required width allowing work to occur around xtures such as poles and curbs, while providing safer trafc control improved production efciencies in the sealing programme maximises the seal and pavement economic life as the Multispray reduces the excessive bitumen build up or bleeding reduces wastage of non-renewable resources.

Figure 3. Example of a ushed seal

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Both spray bars

High flow nozzles Low flow nozzles

Figure 4. Plan view of telescoping spray bars

Figure 5. Telescoping spray bars

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Low flow nozzles High flow nozzles High flow nozzles Low flow nozzles

The computer system also allows the telescopic bar to operate while in variable mode to ensure the sprayer covers a range of areas in a single pass. Each spray nozzle is operated pneumatically and the computer system reviews and controls each and every nozzle on a 30 millisecond cycle. The spray proles always maintain their positions relative to the sprayer wheel track independently of the spray bar's position. This is important as the desired position of the lean areas will vary laterally with respect to the road centreline. Typically, this would occur on bends where vehicles wander transversely towards the inside curve radius. While spraying, the operator simply aligns the sprayer tyres with the low texture fatty areas. The spray bar is extended or retracted to maintain its alignment with the seal edge and centreline. The wheel path areas always maintain their relativity to the sprayer while the remainder of the spray prole is adjusted automatically.

100%

100% 90% 80% 70% 90% 80% 90% 80% 90%

100%

Shoulder

Wheel path

Wheel path

Figure 6. Spray rate proles

Conclusion
The Multispray bitumen sprayer represents the next generation of innovation in sprayed seal technology. The sprayer is safer and delivers more control over the delivered spray rates. The sprayer produces a higher quality surface with improved seal life which equates directly to cost savings and improved safety.

Figure 7. Onboard spray computer with touch screen

Application of Multispray
After a detailed assessment of the pavement texture, an optimised seal design is developed which takes into consideration both high and low trafcked areas (2) and existing surface textures. Using this seal design, the operator enters the required spray rates into the system using the touch screen (Figure 7). Up to ve different spray patterns can be entered, allowing for varied wheel path widths and varied rates as required. The continuous spraying of binder reduces stop-start joints and improves the quality of seal. As an example; in one spray pass 1.2 l/m of binder could be sprayed in the wheel paths, 1.4 l/m between the wheel paths and 1.7 l/m on the shoulder.

References 1. Queensland Roads Vol 1, No 1, June 1962 2. Pidwerbesky B D, Waters J C. Preventing and
solving chipseal problems using a transverse variable application sprayer. 22nd ARRB Conference Research into Practice, Canberra, Australia. 2006

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