Overview
At a time when the U.S. infrastructure continues to deteriorate, and construction and maintenance budgets remain underfunded, it becomes more imperative that highways and pavements achieve longer life and increased durability. The roadway of the future must be tougher, more durable and resistant to cracking, while also being cost-comparative with current methods and materials. FORTA’s line of macro synthetic fibers can build tougher, more durable and crack resistant pavements and has proven success in projects spanning over the course of many years.
There are several ways to consider three-dimensional macro synthetic fibers for pavements, each of which can offer cost and performance advantages over conventional pavement designs and practices. The resulting FRC designs are dependent on fiber dosage – the higher the dosage, the more opportunities that become available. Based on these dosages, the following general parameters can be considered:
- Low Dosage – dosages of 3.0-4.0 lbs. / cu. yd. of macro synthetic fiber can be added to conventional jointed pavement designs to offer an element of crack control along with improved toughness
- Medium Dosage – when dosages if 4.0-7.0 lbs. / cu. yd of macro synthetic fiber are used, consideration of increasing the saving between control joints becomes valid.
- High Dosage – dosages of 7.5 lbs. / cu. yd and higher open the door to dramatically increased joint spacing, as well as consideration of joint-free pavements based on similar design philosophy as CRCP’s.
Project Examples
Visit some of our project pages below and read about some examples of our fibers at work in real world applications. The success of FORTA’s macro synthetic fibers can be clearly witnessed in projects across the country:
