NZTA P11E NOTES: 2021

NOTES FOR THE SPECIFICATION FOR EPOXY

BOUND OPEN-GRADED POROUS ASPHALT
 NZTA P11E Notes: 2021 draft v4.0

1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION
1.1 Background

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency NZTA P11E Specification was introduced in 2014 to specify the
properties of open graded porous asphalt bound with an epoxy modified bitumen binder (EMOGPA).
Over the last 10 years there have been a number of trials and developments in New Zealand relating to
epoxy modified open graded porous asphalt in which instead of using standard bitumen, the binder has been
modified with a reactive epoxy compound.
EMOGPA manufactured with epoxy modified binders has been found to be extremely resistant to oxidation
and hence much longer lives than those achievable with conventional or polymer modified binders are
expected.
Epoxy bitumen is a two part system consisting of epoxy resin and a hardener-bitumen blend. As with
standard epoxy materials the two components are mixed just prior to use and curing takes place over time.
Epoxy modified bitumen uses a slow curing chemistry so that it can be handled and applied at high
temperatures (100-150°C) without excessive curing. Epoxy modified bitumen differs from other polymer
modifiers in that it is thermosetting (i.e. it will not melt once cured), and cures to a flexible rubbery
consistency.
Dilution of commercially available epoxy bitumen by a factor of up to four (i.e. 25% epoxy bitumen) with
unmodified NZTA M01-A binder grades is possible. Dilution reduces costs whilst still achieving significant
gains in benefit/cost ratio compared with OGPA made with standard binders.
Further background can be found in the following publications.
(a) Alabaster, D., Herrington, P.R., Waters, J. (2012). Ultra-Long Life Low Noise Road Surfacings.
Acoustics 2012 Conference, Hong Kong, 13-18 May, 2012.
(b) Herrington, P.R. (2010). Epoxy- Modified Porous Asphalt. NZ Transport Agency research report 410.
36pp.
(c) Herrington, P., Alabaster, D. (2008). Epoxy modified open-graded porous asphalt. Road Materials
and Pavement Design 9, no.3: 481–497.
(d) Herrington, P., Alabaster, D., Arnold, G., Cook, S., A Fussell, Reilly, S. (2007). Epoxy modified open-
graded porous asphalt. Land Transport New Zealand research report 321. 27pp.
NZTA P/11E specification for EMOGPA material lays much emphasis on the properties of the manufactured
product. The purpose of EMOGPA material is to produce a very permeable surfacing with a sufficiently high
proportion of continuous voids to:
(a) Allow water to drain through the material and then percolate along the cross fall of the underlying
material to the pavement edges,
(b) Maintain sufficient macro-texture to meet the requirements of NZTA T10
(c) Obtain a low noise surface
(d) Minimise splash and spray and rolling resistance
(e) Resist oxidation and ravelling when compared to traditional OGPA
EMOGPA material is produced in a static or mobile plant, laid with a paving machine and compacted while it
is hot.
The guidance provided in the notes to the NZTA P11 specification also generally applies to EMOGPA.
Further information specifically relevant to EMOGPA is provided below.

2 ITEMS NOT INCLUDED IN SPECIFICATION

TNZ P/11E Specification does not cover a variety of items likely to be related to EMOGPA construction.
These include chemical control of vegetation on areas to be paved, construction of levelling courses prior to
open graded porous asphalt paving, traffic control, and requirements for provision of standby plant and
contingency plans in case of plant breakdown.
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3 LEVELLING TREATMENT
EMOGPA material is not a structural material and care should be taken to see that the layer thickness does
not have to be too great to take up irregularities in the underlying layer.
In addition, although EMOGPA does not compact much under rolling, the shape of the underlying road
surface will have some influence on the final open EMOGPA surface shape achieved. Typically a 25mm
thick EMOGPA mat after paving will reduce by 2.5mm after compaction.
A levelling treatment will be necessary if any area of the existing surface on which the open graded porous
asphalt is to be laid ponds water.
If a levelling treatment is constructed, it should have an impermeable surfacing applied prior to open graded
porous asphalt construction. The site should be pre-levelled to minimise the quantity of expensive EMOGPA
required to achieve the minimum specified depth.
A layer of EMOGPA does have the ability to significantly improve the ride quality of the pavement if the paver
is equipped with an appropriate levelling device and the site is pre-levelled beforehand
Consideration should be given to controlling the finished shape rather than the nominal layer thickness to
maximise the benefits of the treatment. It is recognised that if only a minimum thickness is specified it can
be difficult to estimate the total quantity of mix that will used.

4 MATERIALS
4.1 Aggregates
The aggregates, by their grading, shape and surface texture, provide the greater part of the mechanical
stability of EMOGPA material. The binder cements and waterproofs the aggregate and acts as a lubricant
during laying and compaction.
The function of the coarse aggregate is to provide stability by the interlocking of the aggregate particles and
by their frictional resistance to displacement. Both the shape and surface texture therefore contribute to
stability, and the ideal aggregate is a hard angular stone with a rough surface texture. This limits the use of
flaky aggregate. To meet these requirements the coarse aggregate is specified in terms of the TNZ M06
sealing chip shape requirements.
The fine aggregate adds to the stability of the mix through the interlocking of particles, and also provides for
greater ease in laying the mix.
The filler adds to the stability of the mix by stiffening the binder and increasing the film thickness.

4.2 Binder
The binder used must be an epoxy modified bitumen or diluted epoxy modified bitumen on the NZTA
approved list. This Specification with Appendices and the List of P11E Approved Products are available on
both the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) website and the Highway Information Portal (HIP).
To be eligible for inclusion on the approved list of binders evidence of satisfactory curing rate and durability
using the test methods given in NZTA T21 must be submitted to Waka Kotahi.

5 MIX TYPES
5.1 Single Layer
Two EMOGPA mix types can be used.
(a) EPA, has a minimum design air void content of 20% and is intended for use in most locations.
(b) High Strength (EPA HS), has a lower air void content and higher shear strength than the other
mixes. Although EPA HS can withstand higher traffic shear stresses than EPA mixes, in general the
use of EMOGPA on high traffic stress sites is not recommended (see below).

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High Voids EMOGPA (EPA HV) is not to be used. These are high air void mixes with a minimum design air
voids content of 25%, although design air voids of approximately 30%. Recent research suggest they don’t
give enhanced noise reducing properties.
A 14 mm maximum aggregate sized mix has been included to cover those areas where the road geometry is
such that a larger reservoir for water runoff is required. This mix would be laid 40 - 50 mm thick. It can be
used in areas where water tends to run down the road rather than to the sides.
It is important to note that EMOGPA requires time to cure and build strength. Although EMOGPA should
have similar properties to standard OGPA immediately after construction, this may not be the case if
sufficient curing has not been achieved during construction and the mix cohesion may thus be initially lower
than standard material. This is less likely to be a problem with diluted epoxy bitumen but it is recommended
that in most cases EMOGPA be used on straight flat sections of roadway such as motorways, without high
braking or cornering stresses. Further, aggregate polishing on high stress sites may negate the extended
life benefits expected from the surfacing.

5.2 Twin Layer Systems

Potentially EMOGPA could be used in a twin layer system (as described in NZTA P11 notes), however a twin
layer EMOGPA system has not yet been trialled.

6 DESIGN OF MIX
The determination of the design bitumen content shall be made in accordance with the principles given in
AGPT Part 4B. This comprises the manufacture of tests mixes over a range of binder contents and then
measuring the quantity of binder drainage that occurs when the mix is held at the mixing temperature for a
period of time that models the expected time from manufacture to laying. The maximum binder content
obtained is then used to manufacture blocks to test for air voids content, retained tensile strength, abrasion
loss and curing rate.
If the requirements of the specification are meet this then becomes the design binder content.
The use of hydrated lime is not specified; instead the retained tensile test is included to determine the risk of
stripping. The test specified gives the ratio of retained tensile strength when compacted specimens are
soaked in water at 60°C for 24 hours. Amine based adhesion agents should not be used with epoxy
modified binders.
The shear strength of OGPA is obtained through the aggregate properties and grading and maintaining a low
ratio of maximum stone size to layer thickness. Most OGPA fails through fretting and the Cantabro test has
been introduced to model this failure mechanism. The Cantabro test consists of subjecting blocks of the mix
to an abrasion action and measuring the weight loss. The blocks are tumbled in a Los Angeles Abrasion
Testing drum (without the steel balls) at 25°C for 300 revolutions. The Cantabro test is also used in the
epoxy binder approval process (see below) but in that case, to increase the severity of the procedure, the
test is conducted at 10⁰C.
A curing rate test is used to ensure the epoxy modified binder achieves the cross-linking necessary to realise
the desired resistance to oxidation. The test measures the increase in indirect tensile modulus after curing
at 85⁰C for 14 days. The ratio should exceed two. A statistical test (Students t-test) is used to test whether
the mean of the test results exceeds the desired ratio at the 5% probability level (i.e. the probability of
concluding that the mean of the test results exceeds the desired ratio when in fact it does not, is less than
5%)

7 TACK COAT
The roadway surfacing underlying the EMOGPA should be as impermeable as possible. The tack coat
therefore is to ensure a good bond between the mix layer and the existing surface. A minimum residual
binder application rate of 0.1 - 0.3 L/m2 should be adequate in most cases. Slightly heavier application rates
than this can be used as the EMOGPA can absorb some excess binder. Absorbent surfaces on the existing
roadway will require a heavier application rate. A uniform application of tack coat is important. The use of
waterproofing membrane will be required where EMOGPA is to be laid directly onto a granular basecourse;
refer to the NZ supplement to the Austroads Pavement Design Guide.

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To preserve continuity of drainage paths, vertical surfaces of open graded porous asphalt material should
not be tack coated unless they abut an existing impermeable material.
A cutback bitumen tack coat should only be used in unusual circumstances. Almost always an emulsion
tack coat should be specified.

8 MIXING TEMPERATURES
On first mixing epoxy modified binders have a lower viscosity than those of normal unmodified bitumen
binders. For this reason plant mixing temperatures are usually around 110-125⁰C (or about 10-15⁰C lower
than would be used for conventional OGPA). The binder viscosity increases with mixing time and
temperature and hopper storage and transport time, so the curing behaviour of the material needs to be
properly understood before plant operations are commenced and advice should be sought from the
manufacturer. Excessively high mixing temperatures (>130⁰C) are to be avoided as this can result in runoff
of the binder and over-curing of the mix which may result in discolouration of the compacted material. In
extreme cases the over-cured material will become non-adhesive and will not be able to be compacted.

9 TRANSPORTATION, SPREADING, TRIMMING AND

COMPACTION
Use of a soap and water, or detergent and water solution is effective in preventing EMOGPA sticking to truck
beds. When a soap or detergent and water solution is used, the truck tray should be elevated and drained
immediately before the EMOGPA is loaded to avoid cooling the mix.
It is important to ensure that the drainage paths within the EMOGPA are not impeded when the material is
laid. In the situation where kerbs are absent, the EMOGPA should be left proud of the shoulders whenever
the layer extends more than 0.5m beyond the lane edge. If the shoulder is not sealed and abuts the lane
edge, it is desirable to have open graded shoulder metal to facilitate drainage from the edge of the
EMOGPA. If the shoulder is sealed, consideration should be given to extend the EMOGPA to the edge of
the seal possibly using a smaller stone size mix that will allow a thinner layer..
Where kerb and channel is present, the layer on which the open graded porous asphalt is to be laid should
be flush with the channel so that the open graded porous asphalt can extend above the lip of the channel
and drain into it. All open graded porous asphalt edges should be trimmed and compacted to a neat step.
Care needs to be taken to ensure that this does not become a safety hazard. Care is required especially for
cyclists and where surfaces are used adjacent to mountable and semi-mountable kerbs with safety barriers.
Details of measures taken to prevent safety hazards need to be clearly defined in the contract documents.
EMOGPA starts curing during manufacture and will continue to cure during transportation so that the time
required to transport the material to the site needs to be carefully considered in planning operations.
Generally it is advisable to ensure that the time from plant mixing to laying is not more than an hour but this
will depend on the mixing temperature. Ideally mixing and transport conditions should be selected so that at
the time of laying the mix curing of the epoxy binder has resulted in the viscosity reaching that of a normal
unmodified bitumen binder. In practice the binder viscosity and mix cohesion may still be relatively low and
immediate rolling of the mix can result in ‘pick-up’ of material on the roller drum. In these cases it is
recommended that the mat be allowed to cool before rolling. If necessary, cooling of the mat with a light
application from a water cart has been found to be effective without damage to the material. Care should be
taken that the rollers have a sufficient but not over-generous uniform application of water over the front and
rear rollers. To ensure continuity of voids in the mix the use of pneumatic tyred rollers (PTR) for compaction
is excluded. Also compaction using steel wheeled rollers must be managed to ensure sufficient compaction
without aggregate breakdown. Steel wheel compaction (without vibration) should be used to complete the
compaction including removal of roller marks.
Heat from the paver screed heaters can act to accelerate the cure of the material so that delays that result in
the paver sitting on the same place for extended periods can result in discoloured, dull patches on the
finished mat. Apart from appearing unsightly these areas may also be more prone to ravelling and must be
avoided.
Minimum thicknesses of each type of mix have been specified. These are based on 2.5 times the nominal
maximum stone size. These thicknesses are the minimum amount of mix laid over any high points.

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Because of the relative absence of fines in the open graded porous asphalt material, it is not possible to use
it to feather out to an existing surface. When feathered joints are necessary, a finer EMOGPA material or
dense asphaltic material, which has the necessary fines, should be used. Care should be taken that the tack
coat application rate is adjusted so that flushing of the mix used for feathering does not occur.

10 SURFACE TOLERANCES
With good workmanship, a high quality "smooth" riding surface can be achieved with open graded porous
asphalt. The achievement of this smooth riding surface is to take precedence over attempting to achieve a
defined pre-set layer thickness for the open graded porous asphalt. This needs to be taken fully into account
at all stages of the contract, including estimating financial requirements and the actual contract supervision.
It should be very rare for the depth of mix specified in the specific contract requirements to be a defined
single number. As EMOGPA is expensive it is important to minimise the amount of material needed by pre-
levelling the site as discussed above.
The surface tolerance of 5mm maximum deviation under a 3m straight edge is appropriate for highway
conditions. On well-shaped suburban streets an 8mm maximum deviation would be more appropriate.

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