FE 06.0125/2023/FGB - "Investigations with regard to the equivalence of grader and finisher paving methods in the area of application of coatings without binders"

The basic prerequisite for the production of permanently functional coatings without binders (SoB) is higher quality properties of the SoB, in particular due to the existing requirement for the delivery of building material mixtures with homogeneous properties as well as the higher quality of the flatness and homogeneity of the coating properties after installation.

To date, paver paving has been considered the safest method for this, which is still reflected in the regulations today: For example, if there are increased requirements for homogeneity, paving with the paver is required, including for the upper layer of the frost protection layer, if this layer is the direct base for a bonded layer. On the other hand, the construction industry argues with practical experience that the further development of paving technologies has led to the fact that by means of other paving methods, in particular by means of the use of a grader, the paving can be carried out at least of the same quality, which means that the requirement for paver paving is unfounded. However, this has not yet been proven in the form of comparative studies.

The aim of this research project is therefore to examine the different paving methods for SoB, in this case "grader" and "paver", with regard to their equivalence in relation to the homogeneity of different coating properties and to make recommendations on the scope and application limits of the paving methods. Furthermore, it is necessary to define and apply criteria (quality characteristics) for the assessment of homogeneity for the different coating properties.

For the special area of application of the frost protection layers, comprehensive comparative investigations are to be carried out on test sections between the currently used paving methods (paver and grader), taking into account the requirements for the homogeneity of the building material mixtures and the finished performance (manufactured layer).