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Road Mesh® is a unique bi-directional high strength steel reinforcement used in new or rehabilitated asphalt pavements to provide solutions for reflective cracking, asphalt fatigue and surface rutting.
Road Mesh® is proven to help increase the duration of maintenance cycles in asphalt pavements around the world. It is manufactured from double twist hexagonal woven wire mesh with a transverse rod woven into the mesh.
Road Mesh® offers high tensile strength at low strain, together with a geometry that provides excellent aggregate interlock to optimize load transfer and shear resistance.
Developed specifically for flexible pavement reinforcement, Road Mesh® can be introduced into the upper bound layers of the pavement structure for rehabilitation or new build construction. Developed initially to inhibit reflective cracking in the asphalt layers, research in the USA and Europe has shown Road Mesh® to enhance the working life of the whole pavement structure.
Questions and Answers:
Design
When should we consider using Road Mesh®?
Road Mesh® must be considered in existing rehabilitation and new pavement design, where the bound layers require additional strength to resist crack reflection, accelerated fatigue due to high deflections and traffic, and surface rut resistance.
What is the cost benefit analysis of Road Mesh®?
Although a pavement reinforced with Road Mesh® will be more expensive to construct than one without, it will last longer, and the time period between maintenance works is also increased. Road Mesh® is proven to extend the fatigue life of all pavement layers, not just the bound upper layers in which the Road Mesh® is installed.
What is the minimum thickness of asphalt wearing course that can be paved over Road Mesh®?
The optimum position in the pavement layers is determined during detail design. However, the minimum overlay thickness is 50 mm (2 in.).
Installation
Do we have to overlap the joints?
Yes. Transverse joints are overlapped by approximately 150 mm (6 in.) and longitudinal joints by 300 mm (12 in.). The overlap is necessary to ensure load transfer from one panel to another.
What fixing method should we use?
The fixing method is dependent primarily on the type of surface on which the Road Mesh® is installed. However, the presence of other factors such as surface condition, vertical alignment, and overlay thickness all play a role in the fixing type selection.
Performance
Are utilities / services accessible beneath the Road Mesh®?
Yes. The Road Mesh® is manufactured from mild steel, and therefore can easily be cut with a concrete saw or equivalent. The reinstatement of the excavation should include 250 mm (10 in.) overlap of the Road Mesh® on all sides, prior to placement of emulsion / asphalt layers.
Does the Road Mesh® rust when the cracks propagate?
Road Mesh® is made from heavily zinc coated galvanized wire (260 g/m2). From cores taken from existing reinforced pavements, it is evident that the Road Mesh® becomes additionally coated with bitumen, as would be the case with a piece of aggregate.
If you are interested in downloading our technical data sheets, please go to documents.
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