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Accurate spreader truck laying binder on a highway

Services / Stabilisation methods

Application of powder binders

The binder is the ingredient that turns a pulverised pavement into a bound one. Choosing it, dosing it and spreading it evenly are the three things that determine whether a stabilisation job works.

What it is

Accurate spreads and mixes the full range of powder binders used in NSW road stabilisation, to the rate specified by the pavement design or mix design, using calibrated spreader trucks and stabilisers with the mixing power to blend them through to depth.

Best suited for

Where it earns its place.

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How we work with you

Full-service and part-service

Flexible ways to engage Accurate, depending on your project requirements.

Full-service

Everything required to build the pavement from start to finish, self-delivered and handed over complete.

  • Pre-milling, spreading, mixing
  • Compaction, trimming and rolling
  • Seal coat or asphalt
  • One contract, one site supervisor

Part-service

Plant and crew for the stabilisation step itself, working to your programme with your own resources alongside.

  • Stabiliser, spreader truck and water cart
  • Operators who know the plant
  • Your compaction, trimming and surfacing
  • The specialist step, on your dates

Binders

The binders, and what each one does

  • Hydrated lime

    What it does
    The subgrade binder. Reacts with clay to reduce plasticity and shrink-swell; dries wet material; gains strength slowly through pozzolanic reaction. Used at 2–4% on subgrades and as the activator in slag blends.

  • Quicklime

    What it does
    Faster-reacting than hydrated lime, and it generates heat on slaking, which makes it the choice for drying very wet ground quickly. Needs more care in handling.

  • GP cement

    What it does
    Fast, high strength gain. The binder for clean granular bases that need to carry traffic quickly. Managed for shrinkage.

  • Ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS)

    What it does
    A slow-setting cementitious binder that gives high final strength with less shrinkage than cement. Almost always used in a blend with lime.

  • Slag/lime blends (70/30, 50/50, 40/60)

    What it does
    The NSW workhorse for base-course stabilisation. The ratio is set by the material and the target strength: more slag for strength, more lime for conditioning clay. Most of Accurate's council work uses one of these three.

  • Fly ash

    What it does
    A pozzolan that reacts with lime to gain strength slowly. Cost-effective in blends where early strength isn't critical.

  • Triple blends

    What it does
    Slag/lime/fly ash or cement/slag/lime, specified where a particular combination of workability, set time and strength is needed.
Stabilisation and spray seal works at Marshall Avenue, Metford

Getting the rate right

What actually goes down

Under-dosing produces a layer that doesn't reach its design strength. Over-dosing wastes binder and, with cement, increases shrinkage cracking.

  • Laboratory mix design

    The rate is set by laboratory mix design on the actual site material and confirmed by UCS testing during the job.

  • Calibrated spreading

    Spreading is by calibrated spreader truck.

  • Mat tests

    The rate is checked with mat tests (a tray of known area laid ahead of the spreader and weighed after).

FAQs

Common questions.

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01Where has Accurate used them?

Every stabilisation project in the portfolio. The Wollongong City Council series (Rothery Street, Harry Graham Drive, Sublime Point, Pringle Road) used slag/lime blends from 40/60 to 70/30 at 3–5%. Gwydir Shire's North Star Road used 70/30 at 4.5%. Coffs Harbour's Mullaway Point used 2% hydrated lime. Trewilga used 50/50 slag/lime over 80,000m².

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Enquire about your next powder binders project

Call (02) 4942 6100 or send the road and the problem.

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