One of the main factors that affect the durability of pavements is infiltration of water through surface cracks, shoulder ingress and capillary rise into soil sublayers. Typically, soil base / subgrade will be saturated with water immediately following heavy rain, while remaining unsaturated or dry, during periods of extended summer.
Despite the best efforts, these sublayers inadvertently suffer from the presence of moisture, typically in the range of 15-35%. Such water saturation causes a significant drop in the resilient modulus of the pavement, leading to higher levels of pavement damage / deflection during wet periods, as compared to dry periods.
In cold regions, water seeps into the soil and subsequently freezes. The formation of ice can cause frost-heave distress, while the thawing of the ice can cause spring-thaw distress. Repetitive cycles of freezing and thawing can cause very significant damage to the soil layers.
In order to extend the design life of the pavement, it is essential to maintain the soil bases dry and free of moisture, even during periods of heavy rain or snow.
TerraSil is an organosilane based chemical technology that significantly reduces capillary water transport in soil. The technology works by quenching water loving polar groups that are present on the surface of individual soil particles (-OH groups). TerraSil is a non-leachable and safe chemistry that works with all soil types.
TerraSil is water dilutable and can be directly introduced through the water of compaction or can be spray applied on the top of a soil surface. Post treatment, the soil is rendered hydrophobic and water can be expected to bead off the surface of the soil.
As a result of rendering the soil impermeable to water, various properties such as soil CBR, soil expansivity and water entry pressure substantially improve.
Additionally, TerraSil is fully compatible with cement, bitumen emulsions, lime and other traditional stabilizers that are designed to improve soils. Hence, TerraSil can also be used as a valuable complementary technology that imparts water impermeability to traditional stabilization processes such as subgrade stabilization, full depth reclamation and gravel road stabilization.
Terrasil Benefits
Permanent
Water Resistance
Eliminates
Capillary Rise
Prevents
Freeze Thaw
Reduces PI
and Expansivity
Non
Leaching
Water Dilutable
& Easy to Apply
Improves Load
Bearing Capacity
Improves
Bearing Capacity
Environmentally
Friendly
TerraSil is designed to be utilised with ZycoBond – a UV and heat stable, crosslinkable soil modifier that chemically binds soil particles together into a flexible crosslinked network. Chemical binding and nano size of the polymer leads to improved load bearing capacity and flexibility of the soil base.