PAVEMENT

WORK TIPS
August 2023
No.52
SPRAYED SEALING IN EXTREMELY
HOT WEATHER

INTRODUCTION
This work tip refers to minimising the risk of General issues related to causes and treatment of
bleeding when carrying out sprayed sealing work flushed and bleeding surfaces are described in
during extreme hot weather events, especially when Work Tips No 7, 44 and 48.
subject to slow moving or stationary heavy traffic, or
unusually heavy loads. Sites with high volumes of traffic, high percentages
of heavy vehicles and/or high pavement
Newly constructed seals are more vulnerable to temperatures generally require the use of a more
flushing or bleeding during extreme hot weather viscous bitumen class (such as Class 240 or Class
events as the binder has not oxidised and 320) or Polymer Modified Binders (PMB).
hardened. Bleeding is an outcome of fresh and
lively bitumen rising to the surface and exceeding Guidelines for the selection of binder and seal type
the height of the sealing aggregate. Apart from based on site stress and pavement temperature
reduced surface texture, severe bleeding can also regime are included in Table 4.7 of the Austroads
lead to the binder and the seal picking up on the Guide to Pavement Technology Part 4K: Selection
tyres of vehicles. and Design of Sprayed Seals and Pavement Work
Tip No 6.
Figure 1: Bleeding sprayed seal
Typically, there is increased risk when ambient
temperatures rise above 40°C on any day, or above
35°C on three or more consecutive days. Under
these conditions, pavement temperatures can be up
to 15°C to 30°C higher than the ambient
temperature, rising as high as 60°C to 70°C.

A further consideration is where the overnight

temperature does not fall below 25°C following an
extreme hot temperature day.

At high temperatures, the aggregate in the seal can

quickly reorientate, forcing binder to the surface
BACKGROUND resulting in a bleeding seal (Figure 1). In more
The guidelines contained in this work tip apply to extreme cases, or if not controlled, this can lead to
seals that are designed for normal pavement reduced skid resistance of the pavement surface
operating temperatures but subject to short term and/or pick-up on vehicle tyres (Figure 2).
extremes of hot weather and traffic.

Copyright Notice © Austroads Ltd and Australian Flexible Pavement Association Limited ISSUE No 52 / August 2023
This work is copyright. This work may be reproduced in whole or in part, provided attribution
to the copyright owners is made.
Figure 2. Bleeding and surface pick up The onset of bleeding is particularly related to the
number of heavy vehicles and length of time the
traffic is stationary. Risks of bleeding are also
increased on steep grades and tight curves, braking
and acceleration zones, when using small sized (7
mm) aggregates, or where the proportion of
equivalent heavy vehicles (EHV) exceeds 20%.

Where a decision is made to proceed with the

sprayed sealing operations during a period of
extreme hot weather, the following steps should be
considered for managing traffic:

Construction of seals with bitumen emulsion binders • Delay exposing the new seal to traffic until the
in high temperature conditions requires special bitumen has cooled down to below its softening
consideration that are not covered in this work tip, point if possible.
although general issues relating to post construction
• Keep the traffic off the newly constructed seal
treatment apply equally to all binder types.
during the hottest part of the day or only open the
seal to traffic when the pavement temperature
CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES is decreasing.
DURING EXTREME HOT WEATHER • If the road has been opened to traffic and
bleeding occurs, cool the seal down by spraying
water over the surface and reopen to traffic while
PROGRAMMING ensuring that reduced speed limits are still in
place. Spraying the surface with water may need
When programming sprayed sealing work during
to be repeated during the day.
periods where extreme hot weather is occurring or
predicted, a postponement of the work should • If there is a risk of exposed areas of binder being
be considered. trafficked, additional aggregate can be applied.
• Make sure that traffic control is put in place to
Other contingency plans that could be adopted prevent damage to the seal or vehicles.
include moving the sprayed sealing operations to a • Where possible, consider storing waiting traffic on
lower risk site (e.g. lower traffic) or implementation an unsealed shoulder.
of traffic control measures. • Where traffic is stored on an existing seal,
reposition the traffic storage area to an alternate
For sites that are subject to seasonal traffic location after each stoppage, and keep stoppage
movements (e.g. harvesting or seasonal farming times as short as possible.
activities), it is recommended that resealing
operations be postponed until after their conclusion Keep monitoring the new seal until the aggregate
to protect the new seal from damage caused by has developed a strong interlock and the maximum
unusually high traffic volumes and over ladened predicted air temperature falls below 35°C. If the
vehicles. binder and/or seal is at risk of picking up under
traffic, a precoated 7 mm aggregate should be
applied to the flushed areas and rolled into the
MANAGEMENT OF TRAFFIC DURING
existing seal during the hottest time of the day.
CONSTRUCTION
During the sprayed sealing operations, traffic is Where vehicles are channelled into areas that
normally slowed, stopped or temporarily held on normally have lower levels of traffic such as sealed
new work or adjoining existing surfacings. As well shoulders or overtaking lanes, there is an increased
as the risk to new work, other recently placed risk of bleeding, due to binder application rates
surfacings (generally within three years) that are commonly being higher in these areas.
carrying medium to heavy traffic are at risk of
bleeding during periods of extreme hot weather.

Copyright Notice © Austroads Ltd and Australian Flexible Pavement Association Limited ISSUE No 52 / August 2023
This work is copyright. This work may be reproduced in whole or in part, provided attribution
to the copyright owners is made.
CUTTING PRACTICE IMPACT OF HEAVY OVER-DIMENSIONAL
VEHICLES USING THE NETWORK
On days of extreme hot weather cutting practice
should be reviewed to consider the temperatures Heavy over-dimensional vehicles, particularly those
and traffic movements on the seal. Refer to Work with axle loads in excess of the normal legal limit
Tip No 14, Sprayed Seal Cutting Practice. but using the network under authorised permit, may
accelerate the incidence of bleeding and surface
damage resulting from seal pick up on days of very
high temperature or periods of prolonged hot
weather.

REFERENCES
Pavement Work Tip No 6, Polymer Modified Binders.

Pavement Work Tip No 7, Treatment of Flushed or Bleeding Surfaces.

Pavement Work Tip No 14, Sprayed Seal Cutting Practice.

Pavement Work Tip No 44, High Pressure Water Retexturing.

Pavement Work Tip No 48, Treatment of Flushed Seals Using Chemical Solvents.

Austroads (2018). Guide to Pavement Technology Part 4K: Selection and Design of Sprayed Seal,
AGPT04K-18.

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Austroads Ltd
ACN 136 812 390
Level 9, 570 George Street, SYDNEY NSW 2000, Australia,
https://austroads.com.au/

Australian Flexible Pavement Association Limited

Copyright Notice © Austroads Ltd and Australian Flexible Pavement Association Limited ACN 000 770 123 ISSUE No 52 / August 2023
This work is copyright. This work may be reproduced in whole or in part, provided attribution
PO Box 848, PORT MELBOURNE VIC 3207, Australia,
to the copyright owners is made.
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