Volume 5, Number 1     January/February 1997

  Technology Transfer

Faster, Better, Cheaper Way To Resurface Bridges

RIDGE RESURFACING PROJECTS MAY NO longer mean days of traffic woes thanks to NASA, the Alabama Department of Transportation and USBI Co. of Huntsville, Alabama.

Workers used an environmentally friendly spray system developed using Space Shuttle technology to apply a non-skid surface to a bridge south of Huntsville during a demonstration test. Traffic was crossing the bridge four hours later.

Current methods require workers prepare the surface, apply a resin system, manually lay down a coat of gravel or non-skid materials and apply a second coat of resin. The new spray system completes the job in one pass after the roadway is prepared.

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and USBI designed the resurfacing tool, which uses a USBI-developed Convergent Spray Technologies (CST^TM) spray process and nozzle. CST^TM currently is used to apply a heat-resistant coating to the Shuttle's solid rocket boosters.

	Workers resurface bridge with environmentally friendly spray system.

"Not only does it shorten the job, but the process does not harm the environment. It uses a solvent-free spray, significantly reducing hazardous waste normally associated with most spray applications," said USBI Materials Engineer Kyle Hamlin.

Common and recycled filler materials and common resin systems can be used with the spray equipment. This project's investigator used a mixture of ground flint and resin to resurface the bridge. The new coating provides a higher grade of traction and better protects the bridge from erosion.

"This project gives us the opportunity to evaluate a new pollution-prevention technology and to try out different adhesives and filler materials which could be used for other NASA programs," said Vernotto McMillan, a technical manager at MSFC.

The project is a product of a 1994 agreement between MSFC and the Federal Highway Administration's Region 4 office for the Southeastern United States. Marshall and its contractors agreed to provide innovative technology derived from the space program and use it for a variety of highway applications including corrosion resistant coatings for metal bridges and non-skid surface treatment for pavements.

This multi-use time and money-saving process could have many commercial applications in the future.

For more information, contact John West at MSFC.
Call 205/544-6858, E-mail: john.west@msfc.nasa.gov
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