CREATING THE BITUMINOUS
BINDERS OF TOMORROW ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE SITS DOWN WITH SAMI BITUMEN TECHNOLOGIES’ NATIONAL R&D AND LABORATORY MANAGER KANJANA YINDEE TO TALK ABOUT INNOVATIONS IN THE WORLD OF BITUMINOUS BINDERS AND EMULSIONS.
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AMI Bitumen Technologies has been at the forefront of innovations in the world of bituminous binders and emulsions in Australia since its establishment more than 40 years ago. The SAMIfalt I-Brid hybrid binder is one such example. Developed in collaboration with the RMIT University, SAMIfalt I-Brid combines plastomeric and elastomeric polymers, resulting in a binder with both high deformation and fatigue resistance over a wide spectrum of traffic loading and ambient conditions. Dubbed as the ‘universal binder,’ SAMIfalt I-Brid is a next generation type of binder which has at its foundations the concept of hybrid co-polymerisation, with the base polymers acting synergistically to impart exceptional deformation resistance and resilience to the binder. Developed two years ago, SAMI has successfully trialled the SAMIfalt I-Brid binder with outstanding performance benefits at two projects, first at Bundaberg Airport in June 2020 and more recently at Bendigo, Victoria in March 2021.
Over the years, SAMI has also been introducing a range of emulsions that help eliminate or minimise use of petroleumbased solvents and cutters in asphalt and spray seal applications. SAMIBond 007 – the winner of this year’s Innovation Award at the Australian flexible Pavement Association’s 2021 State Industry Awards in Western Australia – is a trackless cationic bitumen emulsion that ensures good bonding between the base course and the asphalt overlay. SAMI’s crumbed rubber modified binders such as S45R-LV enable contractors to continue spray sealing in the colder season without using cutters. BioPrime, another innovation by SAMI Bitumen Technologies, is an environmentally friendly prime coat emulsion that contains no petroleum solvents. More recently, SAMI developed SAMIfloat, a cationic high float emulsion that can replace conventional standard emulsions for spray sealing applications for use in the construction of graded and conventional emulsion seals with dusty aggregates.
Kanjana Yindee is the manager of SAMI’s central technology R&D laboratory in Camellia, New South Wales.
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ROADS OCTOBER 2021
THE JOURNEY TO INNOVATION SAMI Bitumen Technologies’ innovative products are developed at research and development laboratories across different states, all of which are coordinated by a team at SAMI’s central technology R&D laboratory in Camellia, New South Wales. Managing the SAMI’s R&D laboratory teams is Kanjana Yindee. With a background in chemical and environmental sciences and currently undertaking her PhD studies in civil and infrastructure engineering at the RMIT University, Yindee says developing ecofriendly binders and emulsions is a major focus for the team. Having spent most of her career working as researcher with companies within the Colas Group, starting with Tipco Asphalt in Thailand, then with Colas in Australia and Mauritius and finally with SAMI in Australia, Yindee says she has enjoyed being part of the innovative journey with SAMI. “SAMI’s products are developed either as responses to market needs, or as expansions of our product range based on recommendations from the internal team. Our social responsibility is reflected in all new product developments to make sure we are contributing to safe and sustainable technologies,” she says. Yindee says every product developed in the research lab gets tested, first at the yard within one of SAMI’s plants, and then applied in road projects, usually by the Colas Group. “There is generally a lot of interaction between plant managers and the quality teams at each plant. Any product developed by the ‘binders’ team gets tested by the ‘asphalt’ team. After an initial pre-screening check, we do a long series of tests and trials with different raw materials and once we are happy with the formulation, we conduct the first trail in one of the plants. If we are happy with the initial trial, we then talk to
