Description
This modification changes the closing date of this Sources Sought Notice to Friday, March 6, 2009. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, is issuing this sources sought announcement to request submissions from companies that manufacture additives for bituminous highway paving mixtures as described. The product process shall be a polymer additive which is added to a standard highway paving mix at the asphalt plant. When placed and compacted, the in-place pavement shall be such that the void space is reduced to the point at which the pavement is considered waterproof and a waterproofing membrane is not required, and the density is increased to the point at which potholes and rutting are minimized or totally eliminated. Documentation of these properties shall be based on the product/process meeting the criteria of the following tests and requirements. Test for Fatigue Rating: This test shall compare an unmodified AC-20 asphalt mix with a similar asphalt mix with the specific additive as part of the mix binder to assess fatigue resistance. The samples shall be tested according to AASHTO TP8: Standard Test Method for Determining the Fatigue Life of Compacted Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Subjected to Repeated Flexural Bending. The beam fatigue testing shall be conducted at a test temperature of 25C, a loading frequency of 5 Hertz, and a tensile strain level of 600 microstrains. Samples shall be compacted to 7 plus or minus 1 percent air voids for testing. Fatigue failure is defined as the number of fatigue cycles which correspond to a 50 percent reduction in the initial beam stiffness. Results shall be considered to meet criteria, that is, shall be considered to have sufficient fatigue resistance, when each sample of the modified mix demonstrates a minimum fatigue resistance of 250,000 cycles at 25C and at least three times that of the unmodified AC-20 binder mix as determined by AASHTO TP 8. Test for Rut Resistance: The objective of this test shall be to evaluate the rutting characteristics of the additive modified asphalt mixture under test wheel loadings at elevated temperatures. Two types of hot mix asphalt mixtures shall be used: one a neat AC-20 asphalt binder; and the second using the same AC-20 binder modified with the proposed additive. The aggregate for both asphalt mixes shall be the same. Three Marshall samples shall be prepared for each hot mix asphalt (HMA) per ASTM D1559, Resistance to Plastic Flow of Bituminous Mixtures Using Marshall Apparatus. The compaction machine and procedures used for fabricating the asphalt beams shall be according to State of Georgia DOT GDT 115, Method of Test For Determining Rutting Susceptibility Using The Loaded Wheel Tester, Specifications. The loaded wheel testing shall be also be performed according to Georgia DOT GDT 115. Tests shall be performed at 40 C and 60 C. Results shall be considered to meet criteria when the following values are met or exceeded: the rut depth, in inches, for the AC-20 with additive sample is a maximum of half the value for the neat AC-20 sample. The following minimum rut depths for the AC-20 with additive sample, tested at 40 C shall not exceed the following values: for 1,000 cycles, a maximum rut depth of 0.04 inches; for 8,000 cycles, a maximum rut depth of 0.05 inches. The following minimum rut depths for the AC-20 with additive sample, tested at 60 C shall not exceed the following values: for 1,000 cycles, a maximum rut depth of 0.15 inches; for 8,000 cycles, a maximum rut depth of 0.20 inches. Test for Resistance to Chloride Ion Penetration: This test shall measure the resistance of a concrete specimen with an asphalt coating containing the special additive binder applied to its surface to the penetration of chloride ion. Testing shall be performed in general accordance with AASHTO T259, Resistance of Concrete to Chloride Ion Penetration. Four concrete test specimens shall be made and cured according to AASHTO T126, Making and Curing Concrete Test Specimens in the Laboratory. Each slab shall be not less than 3 thick and 12 square. The specimens shall be moist cured for 14 days and placed in a drying room for 7 days according to AASHTO T160, Length Change of Hardened Hydraulic Cement Mortar and Concrete. Each specimen shall then be removed from the drying room and be coated with a standard highway asphalt mix with additive contained in the binder. When the specimens have cooled to ambient temperature, they shall be returned to the drying room for 7 days. At that time, they shall be removed from the drying room, 0.75 high by 0.5 wide dams shall be built around the top edges of three of the four specimens, and returned to the drying room for a final 14 days. The fourth specimen shall be the control. The degree of saturation of the specimens at the time of ponding will affect the chloride ingress, i.e., water saturated concrete will absorb significantly less chlorides than a drier, but similar material. Thus, for proper definition of chloride ingress, the requirements for a total of 28 days drying time must be strictly adhered to. At the end of the drying period, 42 days, three of the four specimens shall be subjected to continuous ponding with a three percent sodium chloride solution approximately 0.5 inches deep for ninety days. Glass plates shall be placed over the dams to retard evaporation of the solution and the specimens placed in the drying room for a ninety day period. After 90 days of exposure, the solution shall be removed from the specimen, the specimens shall be allowed to dry, and all salt crystal build up shall be removed from the surfaces. Samples shall then be taken from depths of 0.0625 inches to 0.5 inches, and from 0.5 inches to 1.0 inches per AASHTO T259. The chloride content shall then be determined for each sample in accordance with AASHTO T260. Results shall be considered to satisfy criteria, negligible transmission of chloride ions, when either no sample exceeds 0.03 percent chlorides, or no sample exceeds the percent chloride in the control by greater than 0.01 percent. Test for Impermeability: This test shall consist of preparing and testing compacted hot mix samples employing the specific additive in accordance with ASTM D 5084, Measurement of Hydraulic Conductivity of Saturated Porous Materials Using a Flexible Wall Permeameter. Results shall be considered to meet criteria, asphalt pavement samples are essentially impermeable, when the hydraulic conductivity of each sample is equal to or less than 10 to the minus eighth power cm per sec. Test for Resilient Modulus: This test shall consist of preparing and testing laboratory-prepared Hot Mix Asphalt samples using the proposed additive as an integral part of the binder to determine resilient modulus of elasticity at varying temperatures. All testing shall be in accordance with ASTM D 4123, Indirect Tension Test for Resilient Modulus of Bituminous Mixtures. Results shall be considered to satisfy criteria when the modulus of elasticity of all samples equals or exceed 200,000 pounds per square inch at a test temperature of 25 C. Test Values for Proposed Additive and Asphalt Binder Only: The following tests shall be performed on the proposed additive and asphalt binder, according to the referenced test methods indicated. Nominal required values are listed also. The Performance Grade Test per AASHTO MP1 shall produce a nominal result of PG 94 34. The Dynamic Shear Ratio Test per AASHTO TP5 shall produce a nominal result of 1.034 kPa at 118 C. The Creep Stiffness Test per AASHTO TP3 shall produce a nominal result of 90 Mpa at minus 24 C. The Elastic Recovery Test per ASTM D6084 shall produce a nominal result of 92 percent at 10 C. The Force Ratio Test per AASHTO T300 shall produce a nominal result of 0.99. The Toughness Test per ASTM D5801 shall produce a nominal result of 210 inch pounds. The Tenacity Test per ASTM D5801 shall produce a nominal result of 140 inch pounds. Results shall be considered to satisfy criteria if all test result values fall within 5 percent of the nominal values listed above. Interested manufacturers shall submit written specifications, catalog cuts, and 3 customer references with greater than three years successful field installation of the product. Firm shall indicate business classification size (e.g. 8(a), HUBZone, etc.). The NAICS Code is 324121 with a size standard of 500 employees. This notice is for information purposes only and is not a request to be placed on a solicitation mailing list nor is it a Request for Proposal (RFP) or an announcement of a solicitation. Responses are required no later than 6 March 2009. Responses should be addressed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751, ATTN: Alissa Turner. Firms interested shall provide the above documentation, in one original form and one copy. The government will not pay for any material provided in response to this market survey nor return the data provided. The results of this survey will be considered to be in effect for a period of one year from the date of this notice.