HAPPY CNY EVERYONE!

Reader Response, Draft #3

In the article, “Porous Asphalt Is…,” on the website Pave Green (n.d), it was stated that porous asphalt is beneficial in terms of environment, safety and the cost. Porous asphalt earned its recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency and has been used all around the United States. It was indicated that porous asphalt roads or parking lots exclude small aggregates to allow water to pass through, acting like a filtration system. Thus, this reduces flooding and erosion. Superhighways also use porous asphalt because it helps to drain water, improve water quality, removes splashes and significantly reduce accident rates. The article also mentioned that porous pavement is beneficial in wintery climates because it allows snow to liquify quicker which saves the cost of anti-icing agents, making it cost-effective and eco-friendly. Although the article states that the cost of porous asphalt is higher than conventional asphalt, the overall cost of construction balances out from the savings made from water pipes and inlets.

While I agree with the stormwater management mythology mentioned in the article, “Porous Asphalt Is…,” lacks any concrete information concerning the constraints and ineffectiveness which has led to the undermining of the article in naming porous asphalt the “king of the road”.

One characteristic contributing to the ineffectiveness of porous asphalt that the article has failed to mention is the critical downside of porous asphalt regarding the risk of skidding. In the research report, “Experiences with Porous Asphalt…,” Isenring, Koster and Scazziga (1990) stated that porous asphalt is not a suitable pavement choice for urban areas because of the low traffic speed. The same authors explained how the coefficient of friction is relative to the speed of vehicles and conclude that at higher speeds where the macro-texture is more important, the pavement will have better skidding properties. However, at lower speeds where the micro-texture is more relevant, the skid properties are much lower in comparison to conventional mix. The article also highlighted that porous asphalt has high macro-texture but low micro-texture and is exposed to a higher risk in urban roads because of the densely populated residential areas that created a decrease in traffic speed. Having low speed, the inadequate micro-texture will cause more skidding cases in urban areas especially in wintery climates.

Another negative aspect that was not mentioned in the original article is that porous roads require frequent maintenance and is problematic in urban areas due to the high traffic conditions. Isenring, Koster and Scazziga (1990) also mentioned that continual maintenance, it will contribute to a decrease in the permeability and porous asphalt will lose its noise reduction capability. Thus, the noise problem in urban areas generally cannot be solved with the use of porous asphalt. The same authors also mentioned that unlike the conventional mix, the binder coasting of the porous asphalt will have to be worn off before it can achieve its intended efficiency. Furthermore, porous asphalt at its pre-binder coasting state has even poorer micro-texture and normal repairing methods such as spreading of chippings will not be able to improve the situation.

Lastly, GreenBlue (2017) also state that porous asphalts will clog easily if no proper maintenance and regular checks are made. The void spaces in between the pavement can be clogged by fine particles and sands and can only be removed using an industrial vacuum. Without fast maintenance, the permeability will decrease causing water and other pollutant to run off the surface which defeats the purpose of having permeable filtering pavement. The article also mentioned that the strength of porous asphalt cannot compete with traditional pavement. With consistent pressure from dynamic loadings such as heavy vehicles, it will cause pores of pavement to collapse. As a result, porous asphalt is not a recommended pavement for highways and airport runways.

In summary, the article by Pave Green (n.d) came across to me as being biased in the favor of porous asphalt as it only addresses the advantages. Porous pavements are not as perfect as it sounds, and like many other sorts of pavement, it has its own limits and restrictions and can only do so much.

References

Green Blue. (2017, January 25). Permeable Pavement: The Pros and Cons You Need to Know. Retrieve from https://www.greenblue.com/na/permeable-pavement-the-pros-and-cons-you-need-to-know/ 

Isenring, Koster, Scazziga. (1990). Experiences with Porous Asphalt in Switzerland. Retrieved from http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1990/1265/1265-005.pdf

Pave Green. (2018, February 5) Porous Asphalt Is King of Road. Retrieved from http://www.pavegreen.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58:king-of-the-road&catid=35&Itemid=110

Interpersonal Conflict

Many arguments that people have are usually over relatively unimportant issues. When you are in a third person’s perspective, you have a clear mind and can pick the most logical and feasible way to proceed with ease. However, when involved in a heated argument, a clouded mind may cause you to speak without filters.

Many years ago, back when I was still in secondary school, I often struggle to wake up in the morning for classes. I did not own an alarm clock, nor did I bother learning how to use the alarm option in my phone, and as a result, I was constantly late for classes. Back then, my not so independent self only relied on my mother to wake me up every morning. If she oversleeps, I over oversleep. Being able to sleep without a care in the world during mornings is like taking a short trip to Shangri-La. I was in seventh heaven until my mother came knocking on the door demanding I was going to be late for school if I continued sleeping. The drastic change in mood made me antsy, and to top it off, it was always five minutes before my actual waking up time. During mornings, time passes much slower, making five minutes like an hour or so. After losing an hour of sleep, it is impossible to sleep back because it will already have passed my actual waking up time. The thought of it made me more frustrated at that moment. While I was calculating the time loss in sleep, she sneakily sneak on the lights while my poor eyes are wide open. That was the last straw and it sparked the first minor heated argument. Although I have tried talking to her nicely about these many times, she does not make changes, and this resulted in arguments after arguments.

To the readers, if you were in my shoes, how would you handle this situation?

Revised on 26 February 2018

Read and commented on Roland, Shumin and Gordon

Reader Response, Draft #2

In the article, “Porous Asphalt Is…,” on the website Pave Green (n.d), it was stated that porous asphalt is beneficial in terms of environment, safety and the cost. Porous asphalt earned its recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency and has been used all around the United States. It was indicated that porous asphalt roads or parking lots exclude small aggregates to allow water to pass through, acting like a filtration system. Thus, this reduces flooding and erosion. Superhighways also use porous asphalt because it helps to drain water, improve water quality, removes splashes and significantly reduce accident rates. The article also mentioned that porous pavement is beneficial in wintery climates because it allows snow to liquify quicker which saves the cost of anti-icing agents, making it cost-effective and eco-friendly. Although the cost of porous asphalt is higher, the overall cost of construction balances out from the savings made from water pipes and inlets.

While I agree with the stormwater management mythology mentioned in the article, “Porous Asphalt Is…,” it lacks any concrete information concerning its constraints and ineffectiveness which has led to the undermining of the article in naming porous asphalt the “king of the road”.

Firstly, the article has failed to mention one critical downside of porous asphalt regarding the risk of skidding. In the research report, “Experiences with Porous Asphalt…,” Isenring (1990) has proved the incapability of porous asphalts in urban areas with the aid of the skid trailer Skiddometer BV8. From the same article, figure 3, it shows a graph which explains how the coefficient of friction is relative to the speed of vehicles. It concludes that at higher speeds where the macro-texture is more important, the pavement will have better skidding properties. However, at lower speeds where the micro-texture is more relevant, the skid properties are much lower in comparison to conventional mix. The article also highlighted that porous asphalt has high macro-texture but low micro-texture and is exposed to a higher risk in urban roads because of the densely populated residential areas that created a decrease in traffic speed. Having low speed, the inadequate micro-texture will cause more skidding cases in urban areas especially in wintery climates.

Secondly, Isenring (1990) also mentioned that porous roads require frequent maintenance and is problematic in urban areas due to the high traffic conditions. Without continual maintenance, it will contribute to a decrease in the permeability and porous asphalt will lose its noise reduction capability. Thus, the noise problem in urban areas generally cannot be solved with the use of porous asphalt. Isenring (1990) also mentioned that unlike the conventional mix, the binder coasting of the porous asphalt will have to be worn off before it can achieve its intended efficiency. Furthermore, porous asphalt at its pre-binder coasting state has even poorer micro-texture and normal repairing methods such as spreading of chippings will not be able to improve the situation.

Lastly, GreenBlue (2017) also state that porous asphalts will clog easily if no proper maintenance and regular checks are made. The void spaces in between the pavement can be clogged by fine particles and sands and can only be removed using an industrial vacuum. Without fast maintenance, the permeability will decrease causing water and other pollutants to run off the surface which defeats the purpose of having permeable filtering pavement. The article also mentioned that the strength of porous asphalt cannot compete with traditional pavement. With consistent pressure from dynamic loading such as heavy vehicles, it will cause pores of pavement to collapse. As a result, porous asphalt is not a recommended pavement for highways and airport runways.

In summary, the article by Pave Green (n.d) came across to me as being biased in the favor of porous asphalt as it only addresses the advantages. Porous pavements are not as perfect as it sounds, and like many other sorts of pavement, it has its own limits and restrictions and can only do so much.

References:

1. Pave Green. (2018, February 5) Porous Asphalt Is King of Road. Retrieved from http://www.pavegreen.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58:king-of-the-road&catid=35&Itemid=110

2. Isenring, Thomas. Harald, Koster. Ivan Scazziga. (1990). Experiences with Porous Asphalt in Switzerland. Retrieved from http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1990/1265/1265-005.pdf

3. Green Blue. (2017, January 25). Permeable Pavement: The Pros and Cons You Need to Know. Retrieve from https://www.greenblue.com/na/permeable-pavement-the-pros-and-cons-you-need-to-know/ 

Reader Response, Draft #1

In the article, “Porous Asphalt Is…,” on the website Pave Green (n.d), it was stated that porous asphalt is beneficial in terms of environment, safety and the cost. Porous asphalt earned its recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency and has been used all around the United States. It was indicated that porous asphalt roads or parking lots exclude small aggregates to allow water to pass through, acting like a filtration system. Thus, this reduces flooding and erosion. Superhighways also use porous asphalt because it helps to drain water, improve water quality, removes splashes and significantly reduce accident rates. The article also mentioned that porous pavement is beneficial in wintery climates because it allows snow to liquify quicker which saves the cost of anti-icing agents, making it cost-effective and eco-friendly. Although the cost of porous asphalt is higher, the overall cost of construction balances out from the savings made from water pipes and inlets.

The article by Pave Green is biased in the favor of porous asphalt as it only addresses the advantages. I believe that porous asphalt does not always make the best pavement choice for being environmentally friendly and cost effective. There are many factors in which the article has failed to consider. In the research report, “Experiences with Porous Asphalt…,” Isenring (1990) has proved that porous asphalts are not so ideal in urban areas with the aid of the skid trailer Skiddometer BV8. From the same article, figure 3 is a graph which shows the low coefficient of friction relative to the speed. It concludes that porous asphalt has high macro-texture but low micro-texture. At higher speeds where the macro-texture is more important, the pavement will have better skidding properties. However, at lower speeds where the micro-texture matters more, the skid properties are much lower in comparison to conventional mix.

Due to the nature of the densely populated residential areas surrounding urban roads, it will cause a decrease in traffic speed. Having low speed, the inadequate micro-texture will cause more skidding cases in urban areas during wintery climate. Porous roads require frequent maintenance and is problematic in urban areas due to the high traffic conditions. Along with the lack of maintenance, this will contribute to the decrease in permeability and porous asphalt will lose its noise reduction capability. Thus, the noise problem in urban areas generally cannot be solved with the use of porous asphalt. Unlike the conventional mix, the binder coasting of the porous asphalt will have to be worn off before it can achieve its intended efficiency. Furthermore, porous asphalt at its pre-binder coasting state has poorer micro-texture and normal repairing methods such as spreading of chippings cannot be used to improve the situation. Porous asphalt must also have strict criteria such as aggregates of high quality with good resistance to polishing and with sharp edges due to the specific surface structure of porous asphalt.

GreenBlue (2017) also states that porous asphalts are more prone to clogging if no proper maintenances are conducted. The void spaces in between the pavers can be clogged by fine particles and can only be removed using an industrial vacuum. During wintery climates, sand can also cause clogs. Without instant maintenance, permeability will decrease causing water and other pollutant to run off the surface which defeats the purpose of having permeable pavement. The article also mentioned that the strength of porous asphalt cannot compete with traditional pavement. Consistent pressure from dynamic loadings such as heavy vehicles will cause pores of pavement to collapse. Due to this fact, porous asphalt is not a recommended pavement for highways and airport runways.

In conclusion, porous asphalt is limited to very little types of roads and have to be under maintenance constantly.

Reference:

1. Pave Green. (2018, February 5) Porous Asphalt Is King of Road. Retrieved from http://www.pavegreen.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58:king-of-the-road&catid=35&Itemid=110

2. Isenring, Thomas. Harald, Koster. Ivan Scazziga. (1990). Experiences with Porous Asphalt in Switzerland. Retrieved from http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1990/1265/1265-005.pdf

3. Green Blue. (2017, January 25). Permeable Pavement: The Pros and Cons You Need to Know. Retrieve from https://www.greenblue.com/na/permeable-pavement-the-pros-and-cons-you-need-to-know/  

Article Summary, Draft #3

In the article, “Porous Asphalt Is…,” on the website Pave Green (n.d), it was stated that porous asphalt is beneficial in terms of environment, safety and the cost. Porous asphalt earned its recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency and has been used all around the United States. It was indicated that porous asphalt roads or parking lots exclude small aggregates to allow water to pass through, acting like a filtration system. Thus, this reduces flooding and erosion. Superhighways also use porous asphalt because it helps to drain water, improve water quality, removes splashes and significantly reduce accident rates. The article also mentioned that porous pavement is beneficial in wintery climates because it allows snow to liquify quicker which saves the cost of anti-icing agents, making it cost-effective and eco-friendly. Although the cost of porous asphalt is higher, the overall cost of construction balances out from the savings made from water pipes and inlets.