Pavement Preservation Journal, Fall 2011, Vol. 5, No. 1
By Gouri Mohan, Yetkin Yildirim and Kenneth H. Stokoe
Prime coats have been in use for many decades to help protect the base before the subsequent application of bituminous surface treatments. The prime coat is an application of a low viscosity binder onto the base to help protect the base from moisture, strengthen the base near the surface by binding the fines, protect the base from detrimental effects of weather and light traffic, and to provide an adequate bond between the base and the construction course that follows.
For a prime coat to function efficiently, it should penetrate sufficiently into the base, and should be cured before the application of subsequent layers. Thus, the evaluation of the time required for curing of prime coats and how the curing time depends on various weather parameters is important and has received a lack of attention.