Quarry Management 

About: Quarry Management is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Aggregate (composite) & Crusher. It has an ISSN identifier of 0950-9526. Over the lifetime, 30 publications have been published receiving 239 citations.

The implications of climate change

Abstract: The UK minerals industry has undertaken extensive work on the reduction of energy consumption, both within individual companies and through the Quarry Products Association (QPA). Significant progress has been made with resources efficiency, providing some economic benefits. The climate change issue has been considered on an overall or group basis; however recent planning directives suggest a more site specific approach to carbon management and climate change may be required in future mineral developments. Planning authorities will have to consider climate change issues at site specific level. Assessments could include carbon footprinting and below average emissions. It is also important to emphasise aggregates' future contribution within the construction of a low-carbon economy. The author summarises broad indications of the potential emissions and their possible impact. With regard to energy management, the use of renewable energy should be considered for the environmental and commercial opportunities. Adaptation is also important issue, including the ethical management of potential disruption of the habitats of animals and plants. Carbon offsetting can also be addressed, although it would not be seen as a long-term solution. There can be positive aspects of climate change for the minerals industry if a proactive approach is taken by minerals operators.

Climate change challenge

Abstract: WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) is working to create sustainable markets for recycled resources and improve waste minimisation and recycling rates in the UK. In the aggregates sector, WRAP commissioned research by TRL, Taylor Woodrow Technology and Costain to identify a modelling tool that could be used to identify the carbon dioxide emissions generated by typical road construction scenarios. The tool covers four applications: unbound, hydraulically bound mixtures, concrete and bituminous bound. Four tools were identified as potentially suitable: ESRSA Tool from WRAP, the Environmental Wizard tool for cold recycling bitumen-bound material from Roadstone Recycling Ltd, the Life Cycle Inventory Model for Asphalt Pavements from the European Asphalt Pavement Association and EuroBitume, and Corporate Stepwise from Best Foot Forward. In trials using a typical road-building scenario, none of the tools was able to deliver the data required. WRAP decided to develop its own bespoke tool design. The characteristics of the tool are listed and tests of the tool by the Quarry Products Association are outlined. The user guide to the tool is discussed. The tool confirmed that the use of recycled and secondary aggregates could reduce carbon dioxide emissions compared with primary aggregates. Case studies are presented for ex situ recycling of the A38 in Devon and the A2/A282 Dartford Improvement. (A)

Failure is not an option for BP Bitumen

Abstract: Demands on the performance of bitumens and asphalt in roads have increased. The development of high-quality bitumens for road construction by BP Bitumen at its laboratory in Llandarcy, UK is described. Asphalt pavements account for more than 90% of all paved roads in the UK. Climate and traffic are the critical factors in the longevity of asphalt pavement. The asphalt laboratory at Llandarcy is equipped with instrumentation for asphalt binder testing, mixture production and characterization. Test methods according to both European and US standards can be performed and failure mechanisms can be studied. The development of Bardon Superflex that has the potential to reduce road maintenance by resisting fatigue and deformation failure is described. The new-generation asphalt was developed by BP Bitumen in partnership with Aggregate Industries in response to the need for a more flexible but stronger binder course for cracked and damaged roadways. The fatigue life of the product is twice that of 50/20 hot-rolled asphalt and wheel tracking is a fifth of that of the hot-rolled asphalt. Laboratory tests to simulate the traffic stresses on pavement are outlined.

Aggregate shape - prediction and control during crushing

Abstract: The paper summarizes research concerning the shape of crushed rock particles for use as aggregate. Although the importance of the shape of crushed rock aggregate particles is recognised, information on the control of particle shape during crushing operations is said to be lacking in published literature. Also discussed is the possible development of software, for the control of aggregate processing plant, which could incorporate a particle shape factor.

Performance based specification for road foundation materials

Abstract: This paper details the philosophy behind a performance-based specification for pavement foundation, proposed to supersede the current empirical road foundation and design based on the California Bearing Ratio (CBR). The draft specification is described and the implications of the new performance approach are discussed. Pavement foundation acts as a series of load-spreading layers and provides support to prevent premature flexural fatigue cracking in structural layers. The materials used must therefore possess adequate strength and resistance to permanent deformation. A performance-based specification must satisfy five criteria: ability to measure performance parameters in the laboratory; method of accurately predicting environmental changes; means of incorporating measured parameters in design process; ability to measure parameters in the field; setting suitable target values for construction to ensure final quality. The paper describes these in detail. There is a lack of widely available commercial equipment suitable for tests for a fully analytical performance specification, so currently a CBR performance-based approach was evaluated for implementation. In the future it is considered that the proposed change in the performance-based specification approach will open new possibilities for materials use.