The Civil Engineering Contractor February 2018 | Page 31

INSIGHT
‘Green’ roads in
southern Africa
S
Contributed by Bell
The main factors controlling
financial viability in soil stabilisation
or cold recycling are the need for
high flexibility, high daily output, and
low operating costs, and the RS600 is
designed to deliver in all these areas.
Other ‘green’ machines in the
Bomag stable include the BT65G
Tamper, which is equipped with
a petrol engine but operated with
conventional LP gas. This is a world
first for Bomag, which introduced the
machine at bauma 2015 in Munich.
This unit is well suited to internal
areas and trenches, where they achieve
eco-friendly CO values of almost 0%.
In addition, Bomag DH and PDH
single drum rollers, as well as the
Bomag BW219D-4, are equipped,
as standard, with the Bomag
Ecomode management system,
which controls a wide range of
operating parameters, such as travel
system, engine control, vibratory
drive, and steering. It also selects
the engine speed best suited to the
work, while taking into account site
conditions and interaction between
all variables.
In effect, Ecomode produces the
highest efficiency with the lowest
energy consumption, to deliver up
to 30% less fuel consumption, fewer
CO 2 emissions, less noise pollution,
and longer service life — making an
active contribution to sustainability
for both humans and the environment.
Johannesburg-based Kwa Mhlanga
Group is a prime example of the
innovation and efficiency that can be
achieved with this equipment. Working
together with the company’s Rapid
Mix 400 aggregate batching plant, a
Bomag BF800P paver is used to spread
aggregate onto the desired width of
roadway being constructed, and this
base material is then compacted using a
Bomag BW219D smooth drum roller.
With the aggregate batching plant
and the Bomag BF800P paver, the
Kwa Mhlanga Group can lay 2 000
tonnes of base material in one shift,
which is revolutionary compared
to what is currently the norm in
South Africa. Even more pleasing
is that this efficiency is achieved
without damaging the kerbstones at
the road’s edge. nn
outhern Africa may still be a
long way from developing truly
green roads paved with energy-
generating solar panels, but in the
meantime, local manufacturer and
distributor Bell Equipment is supplying
road-building equipment that is among
the most technologically advanced in
the world, to lessen the environmental
footprint.
Since 2009, Bell has partnered with
German OEM Bomag — a world leader
in compaction and soil stabilisation —
to supply the company’s range of road-
building machinery to the southern
African market. Rehabilitation of
existing roads is generally accepted
as an environmentally responsible
method of road building by making
use of in situ material.
Bell offers three Bomag recyclers/
soil stabilisers: the RS364 with its
single spray bar for cement stabilisation
with water; the RS460 with its 460hp
engine and dual spray bar; and the more
advanced RS600. The RS600, with its
600hp engine, pulverises and crushes
worn and damaged asphalt surfaces
and base layers, and mixes this with
new binders. As a soil stabiliser, the
machine is used for mixing lime, fly
ash, or cement with existing materials
to improve soils and strengthen
subsurfaces in preparation for backfill
and base layers.
Soil stabilisation has been a core
competence of Bomag for over 40 years,
and this expertise is reflected with
the RS600, which effectively provides
greater flexibility in soil stabilisation
and cold recycling. A combination
of unique Flexmix technology and
optimised fuel consumption make the
RS600 the industry benchmark in terms
of efficiency and productivity.
Kwa Mhlanga Group’s Bomag B800P paver, working in tandem with a state-of-the-art
mobile aggregate batching plant, is set to revolutionise road building in the country.
Included in the picture is a Bomag BW219D smooth drum roller, which is used to
compact the base material.
CEC February 2018 - 29