Lightweight Equipment for the Fast Installation of Asphalt Roofing Based on Infrared Heaters

A prototype for mechanizing the asphalt roofing process was developed. In this manuscript, we present the design, manufacturing, preliminary thermal test, and operation test of the equipment. The innovation is sustained by the use of infrared radiators instead of fuel burners. Infrared heaters provide optimal clean heat transfer to asphalt rolls in comparison to fuel burner automated systems since the latter generates a significant amount of CO₂, SO₂, and other non-ecofriendly emissions close to workers. Moreover, the equipment has several advantages with respect to manual installation, such as roofing capacity, cleanness, safety, uniformity, and environment-friendliness. It demonstrates an installation speed of 1 m/min, on average, for 3 kg/m² rolls, which leads to around 400−420 m² per person a day, more than the usual manual roofing rate. However, there are some issues that need to be resolved, such as inaccurate unrolling and/or bad adhesion gaps.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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