Prefabricated plastic panels in road construction

Bitumen and cement are the main binding agents for the construction of flexible and rigid pavement, respectively. Each type of pavement has some advantages and disadvantages. Cracking, ravelling, potholes, shoving, rutand edge break are some common pavement distresses found in present roads. Beside binding agent, aggregate and filler is required in large quantity for construction of roads. Also strengthening, repairing and rehabilitation of roads requires large amounts of aggregates and binding material. Considering these issues, there has been advancement in material science and introduction of nano-materials.Some polymer or nano-material composites are used in different industries that satisfactorily take external loads without much distress. Finally, these materials last up to 30 years in a sustainable manner. The use of plastic waste in flexible pavements has opened up a solution for the problem of disposal of plastic waste. For the past two decades, ample research has been done in the area of use of plastic waste in bituminous road construction as summarised by researchers in several review papers. Prefabricated plastic road panel with zero aggregate is a relatively novel and innovative concept. The idea of prefabricated plastic roads seems inspired from the concept of plastic railway sleepers developed in 2004 and subsequently manufactured in 2006 by a Netherlands-based company, Lankhorst Mouldings. The researchers have provided a detailed study to explain the effects of sleeper bending stiffness on track stiffness, railhead stability and ballast contact stresses. As the proposed concept of prefabricated plastic road panels is entirely novel for India, with only one international competitor, it is of utmost importance to explore it further to help the nation provide quick and eco-friendly (zero aggregate) plastic roads. The project is divided into two phases; laboratory studies and field trials. Under laboratory studies, different waste plastics will be studied with different additives and polymers to develop a suitable plastic that can be further engineered so that panels/slabs can be produced. The slabs designed will be tested through field applications to ascertain their suitability in road construction.To read the full article, CLICK HERE.