When comparing the products' known physical characteristics, please bear in mind that "resistance to pressure" is less relevant than is typically and mistakenly presumed for all types of traffic, whether for pedestrian traffic, vehicular traffic livestock/equine traffic, construction traffic, aeronautic traffic, sports/athletic fields, and so forth.
Most common misperception is that "harder is stronger" - whereas the exact opposite is true:
Increased rigidity equates into increased proneness to fracturing,
whereas increased flexibility equates into resistance to fracturing when exposed to strong dynamic forces.
Resistance to Pressure at the Surface (i.e. 'compressive strength' or 'loadbeaing capacity'):
A. Compressive strength is highly relevant for stationary objects.
All four of the ecoraster grades exceed the loadbearing requirements for any/all vehicles allowed, in the United States of America, on all federal and state roadways, as well as other developed nations. ? more...
B. Compressive strength is only minimally relevant to pavement engineering for vehicular traffic surfaces, it determines:
"When the vehicle is stationary,
will the pavement and/or the pavement driving surface support the weight of the stationary object?"
C. More highly relevant to vehicular traffic surfaces are the tensile strength + resistance to horizontal forces (i.e the forces exerted by vehicles in motion). The relevant defining questions are:
1 - "When the vehicles accelerate or decelerate (brake),
will the horizontal torsional forces decay, deconstruct or disassemble either the pavement, or the pavement surfacing?"
2 - "When the vehicles execute turns at velocity,
or when the steering axles are rotated while stationary,
will the the rotational torsional forces disconnect or deconstruct either the designed + executed pavement, or the driving surface?"
D. Most relevant factor: FHWA Studies and Documentation regarding the relevant factors in the durability + expected lifespan of traffic pavements and surfaces: ? more...
1 - Since the 1960s, and into the latter part of the 21st century, we have known that the most relevant factor effecting a highly durable + long-lived traffic surface is the rigidity versus flexibility of the driving surface.
2 - The more rigid the pavement surface = the more susceptible it is to deconstruction by typical vehicular traffic.
3 - The more flexible the pavement surface = the less susceptible it is to deconstruction by the exact same traffic.
4 - This is a known engineering fact, which is applicable not only to roadways, but is applicable to all built environments:
(i) when severe dynamic forces are exerted on any structure, its ability to flex and recoil allows surviveability;
(ii) whereas the same dynamic forces will cause a rigid structure to fracture.
Defining the word "pavement."
A. the word "pavement" refers to the entire engineered structure, from its supporting base (the earth) to its traffic surface (i.e. conventional paving driving surfaces might be concrete, asphalt, gravel, dirt, or other).
B. the word "pavement" does not only refer to the smoothe driving surface.
1 - below is the "true pavement" (example is the the typical pavement for an asphalt driving surface roadway);
note above that:
(i) only the top 1-2 inches of "the pavement" is the applied asphalt driving surface;
(ii) and that most of "the pavement" entails various other strates and courses, per geotechnical and/or pavement engineer's specifications and design;
[In this example, up to 36 inches in depth, per engineer's specifications.]
(iii) and that the various non-asphalt (compacted aggregate) strata and courses are required in order to achieve various engineering functions, design components which derive from and are dependant upon the finished driving surface: in this example asphalt .
In the example above, the known physical weaknesses of the asphalt driving surface which must be compensated for in the design include:
(a) Extremely low tensile strength: lack of horizontal connectivity.
(b) Rigidity [relative to ecoraster]: prone to fractures and cracks.
(c) Impermeabililty: conversion of precipitation into surface sheetwater, as opposed to infiltration into the earth:
Thereby creating a hydrologic void (vacuum of water) within the compacted compacted aggregate roadbase and subsoil.
This hydrolologic void resists the most irresistable and destructive force majeur in the earth: the flow of water following the path of least resistance.
Across time - the flow of water will: fill the hydrologic void, penetrating into the suboil, migrating the subsoil, decaying the compacted roadbase at its foundation.
Extraordinary pavement engineering is required to [temporarily] stave off the the deconstructive force majeur: the flow of water following the path of least resistance.
Those pavement design function requirements include:
(a) that the "natural subghrade" earth may support the vehicular traffic weights when stationary (this is a minimal requirement in most soil types, and is true for all vehicular traffic designers, regardless of the type of "finish" applied for smoothe driving surface);
(b) to prevent subsurface horizontal migration of groundwater beneath and into the pavement (this is required in order to retain + stabilize the "hard compacted aggregat roadbase" that the driving surface requires in order to retain its shape + size; and is specifically required in order to compensate for the known physical weaknesses of the asphalt, per se its absence of horizontal connectivity);
(c) to prevent subsurface shifting of the base across time (most often due to the subsurface migration of groundwater seeking the path of least resistance + seeking to "fill the vacuum of moisture content" created by the compacted roadbase);
(d) to provide a "hard solid base" to support the asphalt surfacing (i.e. to prevent the deconstruction of the asphalt into broken slabs or chunks);
(e) and an impermeable roadbase, to counteract asphalt's susceptibility to damage/decay resulting from ground surges and upheavals during winter freeze/thaw cycles.
2 - below is another typical, conventional driving surface. (example below is an alternative typical asphalt design)
please note, in the above pavement design:
(i) that only the top 2-4 inches of the overall pavement (up to 24 inches or more, depending upon the pavement engineering model) is the traffic driving surface itself (in this case, asphalt);
(ii) that the "true pavement" is the entire pavement engineering design: up to 24 inches in overall depth;
(iii) and that up to 90% of the excavated + designed + executed base, as well as the prepared subgrade, entirely depend upon and derive from: the choice of the finished smoothe driving surface, asphalt;
(iv) and that the consideable, major elements within the design are engineered specifically in order to compensate for the known physical weaknesses of the asphalt;
(v) resulting in a very costly and entirely avoidable design which may be avoided: simply by avoiding the use of a rigid, impermeable, fracture-prone conventional traffic surface (i.e. conventional or porous asphalt, or conventional or permeable concrete, etc.).
3 - below is a typical traffic surface design utilitzing ecoraster.
figures 3.1: permeable engineered grass vehicular traffic surface [parking lot, fairground, city parks, etc.] design.
figure 3.2: permeable engineered stone roadway design.
C. Pavement Engineering sciences are ongoing and rapidly evolving disciplines ...
1 - because: the earth is not static, and the vehicular traffic is not static,
therefore: neither may the engineering of traffic surfaces on the earth remain static; and that
2 - because: ecoraster does not possess the known physical weaknesses of conventional paving,
therefore: the correct execution of a thoughtfully designed traffic surface utilizing ecoraster will avoid the costly, substantial design elements which are required in rigid or impermeable paving designs.
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