Polymer Composite Micro-Overlays – PCMO®
Extending & Restoring the Service Life of Asphaltic Pavements
with PCMO® & High Performance Pavement Markings
Polymer composite micro-overlay (PCMO) technology is an application of polymer concretes over paving surfaces, especially asphalt. PCMO’s are polymer-modified concretes containing latex or dry polymer, proprietary additives, and aggregates. PCMO’s can have different physical and chemical-resistant properties, depending on the formulations used, and can be pigmented to increase conspicuity for visual reference.
Asphaltic pavements suffer from the effects of environmental and other exposure from ultraviolet light, water, aggressive chemical spills, and abrasion. Water and ultra-violet light exposure strips the pavement of its asphaltic binder, which causes fading, hardening and brittleness (oxidation). This condition leads to cracking, subsequent crack wall erosion, and asphalt aggregate under these conditions is freed from its binder, causing deterioration of the pavement surface. The pavement accordingly suffers reduced service life, requiring additional overlays every six years.
In 1996 a research and development project was initiated to address these problems. The result culminated in the development of a Micro Overlay product named E-Krete manufactured by PolyCon® USA, LLC.
PolyConUSA®, LLC entered into a co-operative research and development agreement with the Army Corp of Engineers to fully test the E-Krete product ability to preserve asphaltic pavements by protecting them from damaging environmental exposure and abrasion.
Our E-Krete® product was tested at the US Army Corp of Engineers Experimental Water ways Station in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and was subjected to laboratory and other institute tests. The results of these studies and tests indicate exceptional performance in all categories, leading to the installation of this pavement protection system on all types of PCC and asphaltic pavements, and the FAA has approved the use of the E-Krete® product.
In addition to providing extended pavement life, PolyCon® USA products, through the integration of properly graded aggregates into the surface material, can also provide a long lasting friction and wearing course micro-overlay that can restore old pavements to new friction standards, or provide new asphaltic surfaces with a new friction and wearing surface.
The E-Krete® product has been further refined and reformulated to provide a long lasting, colored pavement marking product currently marketed under the trademark PermaStripe®. This revolutionary pavement-marking product yields the same durability as our E-Krete® product, however it also exhibits the additional attributes necessary for a high performance pavement marking including high retro-reflectivity, and high chromaticity retention. The standard industry marking colors yellow, white, black, blue (handicap), red and green, are currently available.
E-Krete® and PermaStripe® are PCMO® (Polymer Micro Surface Overlay) products and pavement markings, and can be rapidly installed on damaged substrates, returning pavement to servicable condition in hours, depending on climatic conditions.
The E-Krete® and PermaStripe® products are a cost efficient method of pavement restoration, repair and marking, and are designed for application and preventive measures before pavements reach the point of degradation. These premier PolyCon® USA products provide a greatly needed solution for restoring old and new pavements, while returning them to servicable condition in a timely, and cost effective manner.
PolyCon® USA’s newly formulated high friction, high wear surface product, Skid-Pro® combines all the characteristics and attributes of our E-Krete® flagship product, with properly graded aggregates to meet any friction coefficient required for a particular application.
