Newcastle International Airport
Client: Newcastle International Airport
Date: January 2008
Main Contractor: Tarmac National Contracting
Contract Length: 5 days
Product: Romag Grout
Project Brief:
To extend three existing aircraft stands and install three new 600m2 hard-standing areas at Newcastle International Airport. The time contingent works called for rapid installation, enabling the stands to be re-opened to aircraft after 72 hours.
The Technical Challenge:
As part of a winter maintenance programme, Tarmac National Contracting were required to provide jointless aircraft hard-standing areas that would be tough enough to withstand the 210 tonne weight of an Airbus A330-200. The project was carried out over a 5 day period in temperatures just above freezing.
The Solution:
Newcastle International Airport appointed Tarmac National Contracting to carry out the project using a composite surfacing system which comprises a porous asphalt support layer, combined with Romag high-strength cementitious grout.
Each stand was planed out to a depth of 50mm with steel reinforcement fixed ready to accommodate the asphalt support layer. The 200mm x 100mm x 6mm steel mesh reinforcement was fixed with Hilti nails and fasteners with the elongated mesh positioned across the central axis of the stand. A 50mm thick support layer of 14mm open-graded asphalt was then applied at a temperature of approximately 160°C. Next, to contain the free-flowing Romag grout, a sand barrier was laid to a straight edge around the perimeter of the asphalted area. The grout was mixed in a mixer-pump and, once the asphalt had cooled to below 30°C, the grout was pump-applied across the surface. (Residual heat in the asphalt assists with curing of the grout). The grout mix was then spread evenly over the work area using wide blade squeegees - Romag readily percolates into the open-graded asphalt layer which has a void content of approximately 25%.
Around 40 tonnes of Romag grout was applied and test cubes produced on-site indicated that it had achieved the high early strength required. Core samples, taken after 3 days, confirmed that the grout had penetrated sufficiently into the asphalt.
About Romag:
Romag is a high-strength, free flowing, micro silica cement-based grout, developed by Tarmac's CMS Pozament to create strong and extremely durable jointless surfaces. It achieves a compressive strength of 62N/mm2 after 28days, but reaches a high percentage of its strength development after just a few hours. Romag provides a cost-effective surfacing system for pavements and aprons that are heavily trafficked. It will stand-up to heavy loads and is ideal for use where surfaces are subjected to a constant pounding such as airports, distribution centres, docks and transport depots. It has longterm wear characteristics, is resistant to point loads and rutting, and is impermeable to fuel spillages. Romag is available in 25kg bags, IBCs and in bulk tankers. It is factory blended, tested and packaged to quality control procedures in accordance with BS EN ISO 9001 Series.
See more on:
Romag, part of Roadmaster Mortars and Concretes
October 2008
