The mechanical foaming warm mix asphalt technology, the outcome of 2022NEXCEL TDA2-4 "Mechanical Foaming Warm Mix Asphalt Characteristics and Mixture Performance Improvement and Engineering Demonstration", implemented by Research Institute of Highway Ministry of Transport, has been successfully applied on the Wuyue Expressway in Anhui.
The project team has developed a comprehensive set of application technologies for mechanical foaming warm mix asphalt mixture, including criteria for raw material selection, mixture design system, and construction quality control. These key technologies were applied in the upper and middle layers of the Shanghai-Wuhan Expressway, specifically in the Wuhu to Yuexi section, covering an area of approximately 322,563m2. This marks the first large-scale application of mechanically foamed warm mix technology in tunnel construction in China.
By using warm mix asphalt mixture, the on-site discharge temperature in the tunnel was reduced by 20℃ compared to hot mix asphalt. As a result, the construction and workability of the paving asphalt mixture were significantly improved, and the compaction effect was comparable to that of hot mix asphalt.
The mechanical foaming warm mix asphalt is an environmentally friendly, efficient, and sustainable technology. It effectively avoids the emission of harmful gases that occur during high-temperature operations, reduces heating energy consumption by 30%-50%, decreases toxic gas emissions such as asphalt fumes by 80%, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 50%, mitigates environmental pollution, minimizes the impact on the health of construction workers, and extends the service life of asphalt pavements by reducing asphalt aging during the hot mix process.
