Surfacings for bridge decks and roof-top car parks
Cooperation – Ongoing projects - Completed projects
Cooperation
Roof-top car parks are on the interface between road construction and house building. That is why the Belgian Building Research Institute (BBRI) and BRRC have decided to join forces in drafting recommendations for optimum implementations of combinations of insulating materials, waterproofing systems and surfacings on roofs. A working group gathering all the specialists in this field is preparing a joint document.
Most contractors are currently seeking a technical approval for the products they use in waterproofing bridge decks (and other surfaces trafficable by vehicles). Within CEN and the Belgian union for technical approvals in construction (UBAtc) BRRC actively participates in the updating of standards and guidelines for approvals (based on European standards) and in the performance of the necessary tests to obtain approvals.
Ongoing projects
A working group is compiling a new code of good practice for bridge deck surfacings. It will include the innovations which have appeared since 1987 (the year when the previous version was published) among other things in the design, the products, and the laying and verification methods – both for the bridge deck itself and for the waterproofing system, the protective layer, the regulating layer, the surface course, and the ancillaries to the carriageway. A major section will be devoted to renovation and repairs. The new code is due to be published in 2010.
In the IWT-subsidized consulting unit Surfacings for bridge decks and roof-top car parks a thorough technical assessment is being prepared on the effectiveness of a contractor-designed impregnation coat for bridge decks in preventing blistering in waterproofing systems.
A research project Mastic asphalt and European standards subsidized by the FPS Economy is in progress for mastic asphalt mixtures to be used in protective layers and surface courses. In this project not only the Belgian punching test, the indentation test and the uniaxial cyclic compression test (which is new in Belgium and is intended for indentations smaller than 2 mm) are used, but it is also investigated to what extent the performance tests for conventional stony and sandy skeleton mixtures (rutting, crack susceptibility, TSRST) can be used for mastic asphalt. Among the objectives of the project are a verification of the new national regulation and proposals for performance requirements.
Completed projects
The project Research into European test methods for the performance characteristics of reinforced bitumen waterproofing sheets for bridge decks and other concrete surfaces trafficable by vehicles subsidized by the FPC Economy was completed in 2007. This project made it possible to develop European test methods and to gain experience in their application. It provided the necessary information for the introduction of European test methods and the relevant requirements in the guidelines for technical approvals, as well as the vital information for the improvement of European test methods.
As part of the effort to support innovative initiatives of private companies, BRRC and the Walloon public service SPW set up a full-scale road experiment for a new concept with a mastic asphalt waterproofing layer bonded to the bridge deck. The experiment included five test sections with the substrate, the impregnation coat, the levelling course and the reinforcement of the mastic asphalt as variables. See the last reference under Documents for more information.
Contact:
Lieve Glorie