Use of HaTelit® XP asphalt reinforcement extends
the service life of airport pavements in Spain

The use of HaTelit® XP is becoming increasingly more common for maintenance works and for improving airport runways as well as taxiways.
These materials are used to delay the onset of reflective cracking occurring between the new and old surfacing. HaTelit® XP serves to distribute loads across the entire pavement. In that way, it prolongs the service life of the infrastructure.
Many of the Spanish airports have been reinforced with this product. The project
planners and clients (AENA) have placed their trust in us and in the quality and advantages conferred by use of this material. HaTelit® XP has been installed in airports such as Barajas in Madrid, Valladolid, Vigo, Santiago de Compostela, La Palma, among others.
HaTelit® XP is a geocomposite comprising a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) geogrid and a nonwoven, ultra-lightweight polypropylene geotextile weighing less than 25 g/m2. The entire product has a bituminous coating to ensure a perfect interlayer bonding, which is one of the most important parameters associated the function of asphalt reinforcement.
The non-woven, ultra-lightweight geotextile assists with installation by enhancing adhesion of HaTelit® with the lower asphalt layer. In that way, the paving machine and delivery lorries can traffic over the product.
Normally the areas of airport pavements that suffer most and undergo most damages are those where the aircraft land and turn. The most common forms of damage seen are longitudinal and transverse cracks caused by the heavy loads, shear forces and bending moments to which the pavement is subjected. Likewise, it is used, as was the case at the airport of Villanubla-Valladolid, to delay the onset of cracking arising at the expansion joints between concrete slabs with asphalt overlays. PVA is a material that has very few deformations and tolerates heavy loads, which is why its use is very appropriate for such works.

The majority of remedial measures implemented were initiated by detecting damage to the pavement surface. Milling was undertaken to a depth at which the crack disappeared or became minimal. If the crack opening was greater than 3 mm, measures were taken to seal it. An adhesive emulsion coating was applied at a rate of 0.3 kg/m2 of residual bitumen and when the emulsion broke, the HaTelit® XP was installed.
The reinforced zones were asphalted as far as the original surface of the track and then resurfacing of these was initiated.
The ease and speed with which HaTelit® XP can be installed means that it is a very attractive option for asphalt reinforcement at airports, since the working periods at such locations are based on very tight schedules.
More than 30 years experience attests to our firm’s role in asphalt reinforcement. HUESKER has continued improving HaTelit® over the years to tailor it to the needs of the market and position it as the best option for asphalt reinforcement.