Structure for the reinforcement of pavements comprising assemblies of grouped metal filaments coupled to or integrated in a substrate

Abstract

A structure for the reinforcement of pavements. The structure includes at least a first group of assemblies of grouped metal filaments. These assemblies of grouped metal filaments of said first group are oriented in a first direction in a mutual parallel or mutual substantially parallel position. The assemblies of grouped metal filaments of this first group are coupled to or integrated in a substrate having a non-metal material.

Claims

1. A pavement or a road comprising a structure for the reinforcement of pavements or roads, said structure having a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction, said structure comprising a first group of assemblies of grouped metal filaments, said assemblies of grouped metal filaments of said first group being oriented in a first direction in a mutual parallel or mutual substantially parallel position, said metal filaments having a tensile strength above 1000 MPa, having a filament diameter ranging between 0.30 mm and 5.0 mm and being zinc or zinc alloy coated, said assemblies of grouped metal filaments of said first group being coupled to or integrated in a substrate by at least one yarn, said yarn forming stitches, wherein said substrate consists of non-metal material.

2. The pavement or road according to claim 1, wherein said metal filaments comprise steel filaments.

3. The pavement or road according to claim 1, wherein said assemblies of grouped metal filaments comprise parallel filaments.

4. The pavement or road according to claim 1, wherein said assemblies of grouped metal filaments comprise filaments that are twisted together.

5. The pavement or road according to claim 1, wherein the included angle between said first direction and said longitudinal direction is ranging between 80 and +80.

6. The pavement or road according to claim 1, wherein said first direction is oriented in the longitudinal direction of said structure.

7. The pavement or road according to claim 1, whereby said structure comprises a second group of assemblies of grouped metal filaments, said assemblies of grouped metal filaments of said second group being oriented in a second direction, said second direction being different from said first direction.

8. The pavement or road according to claim 1, said pavement further comprising an overlay on top of the structure.

9. The pavement or the road according to claim 1, wherein the at least one yarn is bendable to a radius of curvature smaller than five times a diameter of the at least one yarn.

10. The pavement or the road according to claim 1, wherein the stitches are formed around said group of assemblies of grouped metal filaments.

11. The pavement or the road according to claim 1, wherein filaments of the assemblies of grouped metal fibers having different diameters and/or are made of different materials.

12. The pavement or the road according to claim 1, wherein the assemblies of grouped metal filaments are worked into a loop of the stitches at a stitch line.

13. The pavement or the road according to claim 1, wherein the stitches are in a tricot configuration or a plain weave pattern.

14. The pavement according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a non-woven foil.

15. The pavement according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a grid.

16. A method to manufacture a pavement or road as defined in claim 1, said method comprising the steps of providing at least a first group of assemblies of grouped metal filaments, said metal filaments having a tensile strength above 1000 MPa, having a filament diameter ranging between 0.30 mm and 5.0 mm and being zinc or zinc alloy coated, providing a substrate consisting of non-metal material; coupling or integrating said assemblies of grouped metal filaments of said first group to or in said substrate by means of at least one yarn forming stitches so that said assemblies of grouped metal filaments are oriented in a first direction in a mutual parallel or mutual substantially parallel position; and installing said coupled or integrated assemblies of grouped metal filaments of said first group to or in said substrate over a pavement or road surface, said pavement or road surface having a layer of asphalt.

17. The method according to claim 16, said method comprising the additional step of providing an overlay over said structure.

18. The pavement or the road according to claim 8, wherein the overlay has a thickness of less than 8 cm.

19. A pavement comprising a structure for reinforcement, and an asphalt pavement, wherein said structure has a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction, said structure comprises a first group of assemblies of grouped metal filaments, said metal filaments having a tensile strength above 1000 MPa, having a filament diameter ranging between 0.30 mm and 5.0 mm and being zinc or zinc alloy coated, said assemblies of grouped metal filaments of said first group being oriented in a first direction in a mutual parallel or mutual substantially parallel position, said assemblies of grouped metal filaments of said first group being coupled to or integrated in a substrate by means of at least one yarn forming stitches, wherein said substrate consists of non-metal material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will now be described into more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings whereby

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a structure for the reinforcement of pavements comprising assemblies of grouped metal filaments glued to a substrate;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a structure for the reinforcement of pavements comprising assemblies of grouped metal filaments coupled to a substrate by stitches;

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a structure for the reinforcement of pavements comprising a first group and a second group of assemblies of grouped metal filaments;

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a structure for the reinforcement of pavements comprising a knitted structure;

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a structure for the reinforcement of pavements comprising a woven structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn on scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.

(8) For the purpose of this invention pavement means any paved surface. The pavement is preferably intended to sustain traffic, such as vehicular or foot traffic.

(9) Examples of pavements comprise roads, walkways, parking lots, airport runways, airport taxiways, . . . .

(10) Equivalent diameter of a yarn or filament means the diameter of an imaginary yarn or filament having a circular radial cross-section, which cross-section has a surface identical to the surface area of the particular yarn or filament

(11) FIG. 1 is an illustration of a first embodiment of a structure 100 for the reinforcement of pavements according to the present invention. The structure 100 comprises a first group of assemblies of grouped metal filaments 112. The assemblies of grouped filaments 112 may comprise steel cords. A preferred steel cord comprises between 2 and 12 filaments, for example a cord having one core filament having a diameter of 0.37 mm and 6 filaments having a diameter of 0.33 mm around this core filament (0.37+60.33).

(12) In alternative embodiments the assemblies of grouped filaments 112 comprise bundles of parallel or substantially parallel filaments, for examples bundles of 12 parallel or substantially parallel filaments.

(13) The assemblies of grouped metal filaments 112 of the first group are all oriented parallel or substantially parallel to each other. The orientation of these assemblies of grouped metal filaments of the first group corresponds with the longitudinal direction 105 of structure 100. This is meaning that the included angle between the orientation of the assemblies of the first group (first direction) and the longitudinal direction is about 0 degrees. The assemblies of grouped metal filaments 112 are glued to a substrate 110.

(14) The substrate 110 may for example comprise a polymer material, glass, carbon or any combination thereof. The substrate 110 is for example a grid or foil obtained by extrusion. Alternatively the substrate 110 comprises a woven or non-woven structure, for example a woven or non-woven polymer structure. Examples of non-woven structures comprise a needlepunched or spunbond non-woven substrate, for example in polyamide, polyether sulphone of polypropylene.

(15) In a preferred embodiment the assemblies of grouped metal filaments comprise steel cords comprising twisted filaments. The steel cords are glued to a polymer substrate for example a non-woven polyether sulphone substrate or to an extruded polypropylene grid (35 g/m.sup.2 having a 66 mm mesh).

(16) In another preferred embodiment the assemblies of grouped metal filaments are steel cords that are glued to a substrate made of glass fibers or glass rovings or to a substrate comprising carbon filaments.

(17) FIG. 2 is an illustration of a second embodiment of a structure 200 for the reinforcement of pavements according to the present invention. The structure 200 comprises a first group of assemblies of grouped metal filaments 212. The assemblies of grouped filaments 212 may comprise steel cords. The assemblies of grouped metal filaments comprise for example steel cords comprising 3 filaments having a diameter of 0.48 mm twisted together (30.48 mm).

(18) In alternative embodiments the assemblies of grouped metal filaments 212 comprise parallel or substantially parallel filaments, for example a bundle of 12 parallel or substantially parallel filaments.

(19) The assemblies of grouped metal filaments 212 of the first group are all oriented parallel or substantially parallel to each other. The orientation of these assemblies of grouped metal filaments of the first group corresponds with the longitudinal direction 205 of structure 200. This is meaning that the included angle between the orientation of the assemblies of the first group (first direction) and the longitudinal direction is about 0 degrees. The assemblies of grouped metal filaments 212 are coupled to a substrate 210 by means of stitches 212. The stitches are formed by a yarn.

(20) The yarn comprises for example a multifilament yarn, preferably a polyamide, a polyether sulphone, a polyvinyl alcohol a polypropylene yarn. The substrate 210 comprises for example a woven or non-woven structure, for example a woven or non-woven polymer structure.

(21) Examples of non-woven structures comprise a needlepunched or spunbond non-woven substrate, for example in polyamide, polyether sulphone of polypropylene.

(22) In a preferred embodiment the assemblies of grouped metal filaments comprise steel cords comprising twisted steel filaments. The steel cords are stitched to a polymer substrate for example a non-woven polyether sulphone substrate by means of a polyether sulphone yarn.

(23) FIG. 3 is a further illustration of a structure 300 for the reinforcement of pavements. The structure 300 comprises a first group of assemblies of grouped filaments 312 and a second group of assemblies of grouped filaments 314. The first group of assemblies 312 comprises steel cords oriented substantially parallel to each other in a first direction. The second group of assemblies 314 comprises steel cords oriented substantially parallel to each other in a second direction. The first direction is different from the second direction. The included angle between the first direction and the longitudinal direction 305 of the structure 300 is 45 degrees. The included angle between the second direction and the longitudinal direction 305 of the structure 300 is 45 degrees. The included angle between the first direction and the second direction is indicated by . The included angle is 90 degrees.

(24) The assemblies of the first group 312 and the assemblies of the second group 314 are stitched to a substrate 310 along lines 316 by at least one yarn. The substrate 310 comprises for example a woven or non-woven structure.

(25) FIG. 4 shows a schematic illustration of a structure 400 for the reinforcement of pavements. The structure 400 is a knitted structure. The knitted structure 400 comprises a number of assemblies of grouped metal filaments 402 in parallel or mutual substantially parallel position. In the knitted structure 400 shown in FIG. 4 the assemblies of grouped metal filaments are worked into the loop of stitches 420 at the stitch line 440. The stitches 420 are formed by a yarn, for example a single or multifilament yarn, preferably a polyamide, a polyether sulphone, a polyvinylalcohol, a polypropylene yarn or a metal yarn such as a steel yarn.

(26) The textile stitches shown in this example are in a tricot configuration. Preferred assemblies of grouped metal filaments 402 comprise steel cords.

(27) FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a structure 500 for the reinforcement of pavements. The structure 500 comprises a woven structure having in warp direction 502 a number of assemblies 504 of grouped metal filaments. The warp direction 502 may further comprise a yarn (a binding warp filament) 505, for example between two assemblies of grouped metal filaments 502.

(28) The weft direction 506 comprises yarns, for example polyamide monofilaments (70 tex) 508. The structure 500 has a plain weave pattern.