The effect of grinding roadways using the HTC method is being studied in a unique research project in Sweden.
Mistra Innovation* has awarded HTC's project "Via Futura" a grant of SEK 4 million with the aim of describing the environmental and financial effects of using HTC's grinding technology on asphalt roadways in Sweden. An earlier pilot project showed that grinding reduces both the noise and the rolling resistance to a considerable extent.
Uneven road surfaces generate negative effects in the form of noise, both inside and outside the vehicle, as well as by increasing the rolling resistance of the wheels, which in its turn leads to increased fuel consumption. Another undesirable effect of worn road surfaces is the increase in respirable particles. A pilot project on one of Sweden's most used roads, the E4, showed that grinding the road surface reduced noise by 2.2 dB(A) and reduced the rolling resistance by 4-7%, resulting in a reduction in fuel consumption of 2%.
"At HTC, we see the application of HTC's tried and tested grinding technology to surfaces other than stone and concrete floors as very exciting. HTC has been developing this technology for many years and we hope this project will confirm what we believe; our method increases travel comfort as well as saving both the environment and the taxes spent on repairing the infrastructure; our roads, in this instance," says Per Sandström, Business Area Manager at HTC.
HTC estimates that the grinding method could lengthen the service life of the road surface by approx. 20-50%, which would be a major cost saving. Grinding is a relatively fast process and it can be done either across the entire roadway or just along parts of it. Determining which of these is the optimum procedure will also be one of the aspects studied in the project.
The project has been given the name "Via Futura", and it is being run by HTC Sweden AB together with VTI (Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute), Linköping University, the Swedish Transport Administration, Svevia and Projektengagemang in Stockholm. The project is expected to be completed in December 2015.
Read more about the subject in the media (articles in Swedsih):
http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/lagfrekvent-buller-gor-dig-trott-vid-ratten/
http://www.expressen.se/motor/vagbuller-en-trafikfara--gor-forare-somniga/
http://www.entreprenadaktuellt.se/?p=43046&pt=107&m=2879
http://www.transport.se/Transportarbetaren/Start/Nyheter1/Slipad-vag-ska-dampa-bullret/
* About Mistra Innovation;
A Research Programme in Product Innovation and Realization.
Mistra invites small and medium sized Swedish companies together with academic research organizations to submit proposals for research projects concerning the implementation of discoveries and inventions leading to reduced environmental impact and improvements in sustainability.
For more information, please contact
Per Sandström, Business Unit Manager, HTC Sweden AB, Tel: 46 (0)121- 294 00
www.htc-floorsystems.com
About HTC Sweden AB
HTC Sweden is a fast growing company that was founded in 1987. In 1992 HTC Sweden launched a patent pending system used to grind various surfaces. Today HTC is the market leader within diamond-based floor grinding and cleaning. HTC has developed unique floor solutions such as polished concrete, e.g HTC Superfloor™ and in 2005 another revolution was released the unique diamond cleaning system Twister™. The head office along with production and product development is located in Söderköping, Sweden. Subsidiaries operate in USA, Germany, England and France. Since June 2013 HTC is owned by Polaris private equity, a Danish/Swedish private equity investor focusing on buy-out investments in small and mid-cap operations in Denmark and Sweden. The focus is set upon companies with an obvious development potential and a turnover span of SEK 250 - 2 000 million. Polaris has made 28 investments - 14 of them successfully divested. More than 50 successful additional investments have been made within the portfolio companies.
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