Making Roads And Bridges Last Longer With Afrisam

13th May 2019

     

Font size: - +

Construction materials leader AfriSam leverages the power of applied research to make roads, bridges and other concrete structures more resistant to corrosive environments.

Among its long term research is a project assessing the effects of highly corrosive environments on concretes, and how different proportions and types of raw materials can mitigate these impacts.

According to Nithia Pillay, AfriSam’s national product technical manager for construction materials, the research is part of a continuous effort to improve the performance and longevity of civils structures and buildings.

“The ongoing, proactive monitoring that we conduct as part of our quality control function also forms an important part of the company’s product development cycle,” says Pillay. “The data we generate gives us the scientific and experiential basis to constantly develop new innovations.”

Results from these tests feed into dedicated computer software, allowing architects and contractors to specify the appropriate grade of concrete to suit their project’s environmental conditions. In this way, the company’s investment in expertise and systems to sustain quality products also positions it well to conduct and coordinate valuable research.

“In collaboration with customers, universities and other bodies, we explore the properties of cements, supplementary cementitious materials, aggregates and concrete,” he says. “By actively mapping quarry rock type and quality, blasted material is expertly paired with appropriate applications.”

For instance, roadstone is supplied to the specific grading, shape and wearing properties required for asphalt and road surfacing applications.

“The material we supply for layer works, such as the base and sub-base materials, must provide the interlocking support structure in road design, with the different categories of graded material catering for varying load designs,” says Pillay.

As the leaders in Durability Index Testing, AfriSam has developed a detailed understanding of how constituent materials – as well as site practices such as compacting and curing – impact on the durability and performance of concrete. This testing is conducted in its Centre of Product Excellence laboratory, which makes itself commercially available as a service to the construction industry.

“The Durability Index Tests that are being designed and applied to concrete and civil infrastructure are based on key parameters that allow the structure’s design life to be predicted and prolonged,” he says.

The integrity of the data being collected is vital to the value of the research. It is therefore significant that the plant laboratories at AfriSam’s cement, aggregate and readymix operations around the country are all ISO 9001-certified.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

The functionality you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION