Test results: PolyCom Stabilising Aid vs re-sheet vs maintenance grade
In March 2015, a council in south-west NSW undertook a practical comparison between unsealed road maintenance methods. The results confirm that PolyCom adds water resistance and longevity to the existing road materials, reducing future maintenance interventions.
Selecting a stretch of unsealed road, the council allocated three test sections - the first to be re-sheeted with imported gravel, the second to receive a simple maintenance grade and the third to be treated with PolyCom Stabilising Aid.
In April 2015, one month later, a loose fines sweep test (or Ravel Test) was conducted on each section of the road to collect all loose material from a 1 metre x 1 metre test patch.
Only 426 grams of material was collected from the PolyCom treated section of road, a stark comparison to the maintenance grade and re-sheet sections.
Ravel Test results:
Re-sheet section - 9,845 grams per m2
Maintenance grade section - 5,019 grams per m2
PolyCom treated section - 426 grams per m2
As you can see from the images and the results, the re-sheeted section yielded 23 times more loose material than the PolyCom treated section. What's more, four days prior to testing, the roads were subjected to over an inch of rain.
The results confirm that PolyCom adds water resistance and longevity to the existing road materials, and prevents the time and expense of winning and hauling new gravel to site.
