Asphalt is the quintessential pavement making material not only in Georgia, but in the entire United States and in the rest of the world. Unlike concrete, asphalt is easier to lay out and easier to maintain and repair, while offering almost similar levels of durability as concrete pavements. Asphalt paving contractors in Georgia generally deal with multiple asphalt formulations depending on the conditions and needs of the asphalt pavement. Commonly used asphalt types are:
Warm Mix Asphalt
Warm mix asphalt generally used in sites where pavements need to be put to immediate use after repairs or construction, especially in high traffic city areas or pavements in busy intersections. Warm mix asphalt dries very quickly owing to its warm properties, plus it releases considerably less carbon byproduct as compared to other variants. Many additives are added to asphalt mix during preparation to make it easy to compact them and change their properties. A majority of asphalt paving done in Georgia uses warm mix asphalt.
Hot Mix Asphalt
Hot mix asphalt is slightly difficult to work with, because the compaction is to be done when the asphalt is still hot. This poses an issue during cold winter months, so hot mix asphalt paving is generally done in the summer season. Hot mix asphalt is also a lot more durable than warm mix asphalt, so it is regularly used for high traffic areas such as airport runways, major highways and racetracks. Unlike warm mix asphalt, the additives mixing is kept to a minimum. Both hot mix and warm mix pavements are easy to repair and replace.
Cold Mix Asphalt
Cold mix asphalts ditches away warm and hot properties of asphalt and bring down workability to a more manageable temperature. An emulsifying agent is added to the asphalt and water mixture before the manufacturing process begins. This decreases the viscosity of asphalt, making it easier to work with in its slightly colder form. Cold mix is not actually cold, but slightly less warm than hot and warm mix asphalts.
Cold mix asphalt is rarely used for making entire pavements, especially in areas with good traffic. Instead, it is generally limited to low intensity pavements, such as personal pavements, walkways and driveways. In commercial use, cold mix asphalt is generally used to patch irregularities or holes in asphalt pavements present in high traffic areas. Because of their less viscosity, they can easily be used as for patching holes and broken edges of asphalt surfaces.
Sheet Asphalt
Sheet asphalt is generally used for making low traffic pavements such as pathways and footpaths. It is made of hard bitumen that is heated with aggregates for a long time. This makes sheet asphalt noticeably thicker than most other asphalt variants with decreased porosity. Sheet asphalt are also made in different variants depending on the asphalt paving contractor and their needs for a particular project. They are great at absorbing pressure, but are slightly difficult to repair, hence used for low intensity pavements that don’t get a lot of heavy traffic.
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