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       As manufacturers make infrared equipment more portable and versatile, contractors are discovering new uses for infrared equipment. “I think U.S. contractors are some of the most creative and innovative because contractors have to find ways to get the job done faster, more profitably, and better than they’ve ever done before,” said Dave Strassman of Asphalt Reheat Systems. “That’s the change we’re seeing in infrared applications.” While each of the following jobs is described by a specific manufacturer, all infrared equipment can do these types of jobs and more.
       Not all jobs that use infrared technology have to involve road rehabilitation, and the thermoplastic crosswalk recently installed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a great example.
       Dave Strassman, development specialist for Asphalt Reheat Systems, said the company not only applied the thermoplastic, which features the university’s red and white colors and reflective glass beads, to the crosswalk, but also used an infrared process to install the Bucky Badger mascot logo in the center of the crosswalk.
       ”It’s an old intersection, about six to eight years old,” Strassman said. “It had thermoplastic, epoxy and paint markings on it before, so the first thing we did was remove the old markings.”
       ARS uses a Manta Ray infrared device to heat the pavement to 300 to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hot enough to soften the markings. They then use a rake to scrape off the epoxy and paint. To remove the heated thermoplastic, ARS technicians mounted a scoop on a Bobcat skid steer loader to remove the markings from the pavement.
       During this time, ARS restored the crosswalk (45 feet long and 6 feet wide) to its original fresh asphalt surface. Strassman said they are using a Manta Ray self-propelled unit to heat the crosswalk.
       “This self-propelled unit is very useful in this situation because we can place it within inches of where the heat is needed. It can be easily controlled by one person and can be moved with precision within inches,” Strassman said. “That’s one of the great advantages of the new infrared units: They’re much more maneuverable.”
       After the standard infrared process, ARS heats the surface and then places a plastic and rubber crosswalk form on the surface. They used a vibrating plate compactor to press the form 1/8 inch into the hot asphalt surface. After removing the form, a crosswalk depression was created in the sidewalk. ARS did the job using red and white thermoplastic. The thermoplastic is placed in the depression and then heated with a Manta Ray to 250 to 275 degrees Fahrenheit until the material begins to melt.
       “The Manta Ray has a timer on the outside that allows us to monitor the temperature,” Strassman said. “We knew it would take about two minutes to get the temperature up to 250 to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.”
       ”You can also simply lift the heater and visually inspect the thermoplastic as it heats up,” he said. “Removing it won’t affect the process.”
       ”We need to deepen it a little bit so that snowplows and heavy traffic don’t damage the crosswalk,” Strassman said.
       ”We were doing this during the school day, and this is a high-traffic area of ​​campus. We probably had about 3,000 students walk by while we were outside,” Strassman said.
       Strassman said he expects infrared thermoplastics to become widely used for a number of reasons, including that it is easier, faster and more reliable than the traditional method of heating materials with a flashlight.
       “Using infrared equipment, contractors will be able to heat existing asphalt over a larger area without damaging the pavement,” Strassman said. “This will allow contractors to complete larger jobs faster, providing more service to their customers.”
       “Thermoplastics aren’t new, but people have become more creative in their use,” Strassman said. “Thermoplastic manufacturers can now produce almost any color and design you want. They can create unique signage systems. People aren’t used to seeing a red and white Bucky Badger light up in the middle of the road when headlights hit it.”
       While infrared equipment can be used to repair a variety of pavement defects such as potholes, alligator areas, and even “bird baths” on new pavement, the equipment can also be used for improvements or additions that are considered after the pavement has been laid.
       Carl Morris, president of Keizer-Morris Inc. in Almonte, Mich., said infrared technology is very effective in building handicap ramps, speed bumps and even speed bumps.
       “We were approached by Lapeer County, Michigan, and asked if we could use infrared equipment to install speed bumps in front of stop signs on a few low-volume roads,” Morris said. “We haven’t tried or looked into it yet, but we think it could work.”
       Morris says the process is similar to stamped paving, but stamped paving is deeper. He says they created a homemade template and cut 3/4-inch-thick plywood into five 3-inch-wide strips. The strips were attached to metal brackets on each side at 3-inch intervals, creating a single form that was 8 feet wide.
       Once the template was completed, the construction crew arrived on site and performed the work according to standard infrared repair procedures. Use a backpack blower to remove debris, foreign objects, and standing water from the road.
       ”This is a very important first step because if you don’t clean it first, two things can happen,” Morris said. “One is that if you leave dirt or water on the asphalt and then you heat it, it can become part of the asphalt and weaken it, which is not what you want. The other thing is that dirt or water can act as an insulator and make it difficult to heat the asphalt and get it to heat evenly.”
       They then heated the pavement using a KM4-48 machine, which has four heating zones and offers 15 different heating configurations. To prevent accidents, use zones 1 and 3 to create a 4 x 8 foot horizontal heating area on the pavement. The pavement is then heated.
       Once heated, place the mold on the heated surface and compact it to a depth of 3/4 inch. Morris said they used a pace plate compactor and a 1-ton roller to create the prints.
       Using the infrared process to make improvements like installing speed bumps is quick and easy for contractors, allowing them to provide additional services to their clients, Morris said. Once crews install the heaters on the ground, the entire process from start to finish takes just 10 minutes, he said.
       “The infrared approach has the added benefit of allowing you to add things like handicap ramps or speed bumps,” Morris said. “For example, if you’re building a speed bump, you’re simply adding something on top of the road surface. But if you use the infrared process to build a speed bump, you heat the surface, scoop it out, and then build the speed bump on top of it. The speed bump then becomes part of the existing road surface, making it stronger and ensuring it lasts longer.”
       Many contractors are in the business of fixing utility outages. It’s a lucrative business, but it can also be a real pain, especially if a botched repair requires a recall.
       However, as Knipfing Asphalt Solutions, the contracting division of KASI Infrared Equipment, has learned, infrared technology can solve the problem of utility outages. In fact, Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) and New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) now rely almost exclusively on infrared technology to repair many of their power line outages.
       The reason is obvious. While traditional repair methods always leave cold joints through which water seeps into the base and underlayment, the infrared repair process allows for virtually seamless repair of the road surface.
       ”Infrared restoration is currently the only way to return a road to its original condition,” Knipfing said. “Once installed correctly, it becomes an integral part of the road surface and blends in with it.”
       Knipfing estimates that in the eight years his contracting company has used the infrared process, his four crews have repaired about 20,000 utility holes, including a 1.8-mile-long trench. He said there is nothing complicated about using the infrared process to fix utility outages.
       Once the utility company has completed their work, the backfill material will be replaced and properly compacted. Then, a 3/4-inch thick stabilized asphalt layer is placed at the appropriate depth and properly compacted. After 90 days, Knipfing Asphalt Solutions will arrive on site and complete the final step of the process.
       Workers used infrared equipment to heat the patch and surrounding pavement, then removed a 3/4-inch-thick section of asphalt base. They replaced the removed sections with 3/8-inch-thick worn asphalt, smoothed it out, and then compacted the patch, working from the outside edge to the center.
       “It’s important that once the backfill and base material are placed, they are left alone for 90 days without being disturbed. This will give both materials enough time to settle and compact,” Knipfing said. “The amount of settlement varies. Sometimes there is none, sometimes it is almost two inches. It all depends on how compacted the backfill and asphalt base are.”
       According to him, if the final repair of the infrared equipment had been carried out on the same day as the utility work, further settling would most likely have occurred, which would have led to the road subsidence.
       ”As the asphalt settles, the patch separates from the surrounding road, water seeps in, and the patch will almost certainly fail,” Knipfing said. “Waiting 90 days would actually eliminate the problem. The 90-day period is key.”
       Knipfing noted that the size of the repair area determines the amount of hot mix asphalt that needs to be added to the final patch. Pothole repairs may require two shovels or a wheelbarrow.
       Modern infrared equipment is well suited for this type of paving job, he said, because most can be configured in a variety of ways, allowing contractors to choose the configuration that best suits the size of the paving job.
       Knipfing noted that when comparing infrared repairs to standard utility-disconnect repairs, it’s difficult to quantify the costs or even savings because there are so many variables to consider, including the scope of the repair. “It’s typically more expensive up front than traditional methods,” he said, but when you factor in the reduction in return visits, it’s essentially a cost-effective solution.
       ”A big advantage for the utility is that the municipality that owns the street is happy to restore it to its ‘before’ condition. This eliminates one of the biggest problems for underground utilities, namely ‘keeping the municipality happy.’
       Knipfing noted that the infrared treatment method is also effective in repairing utility damage that was previously repaired using traditional methods but subsequently failed to be repaired. Previously, damaged utilities were repaired using patches, but the results were not permanent or required the entire patch to be removed and replaced using the same method it was originally applied.
       ”But you can use infrared technology to repair these unfortunate utility outages. It’s kind of like using infrared to patch potholes,” he said. “You take the same approach.”
       Paving contractors work hard to achieve perfection, ensuring the paving density is correct, the slope is correct, and the joints are strong. But what should a contractor do if the job isn’t as perfect as the paver or the client had hoped?
       One of the latest solutions is infrared repair equipment, which can be used to repair newly laid surfaces without wasting new hot mix or creating seams in the new coating.
       “We continue to receive more calls from paving contractors and others in the industry who recognize that this is the right way to go,” said Wes VanVelsor, president of Ray-Tech Infrared.
       VanVelsor described a recent paving job where a Ray-Tech Mini TMV equipped with a 2-ton liquid waste collection tank and rear pavement heater was used to improve drainage and enable the city of Charleston, New Hampshire, to accept the finished road.
       The road runs through a newly built eight-home development. VanVelsor said that during the initial planning of the project, a problem arose when the backfill material around the storm drains was not compacted sufficiently. Over time, the material around the storm drains settles, and the asphalt pavement settles with it.
       ”About 18 months later, when the asphalt around the gutters and other places had settled, they realized it was a little flat,” VanVelsor said. “There was some standing water in other places, and there were low spots on both sides of each storm drain, nine in total, with 1/2 inch to 3/8 inch of standing water around the drain.”
       The city refused to accept the road because of standing water, and contractors began looking for a solution to the drainage problem.
       “This is an ideal job for infrared restoration because the process creates a good bond,” VanVelsor said. “The last place you want a seam is around a manhole or gutter because that’s where the most water gets in. Infrared can do the repair work without making any cuts in the coating, while still creating a thermal bond with the existing coating.”
       In the past, contractors tried to use leather patches to solve drainage problems, but contractors felt that leather patches did not last long.