Glass Beads - Road Marking Enhancement

Usually,  the glass beads used in road markings have a refractive index ranging between 1.5 and 1.9. They are developed in a wide range of sizes from 100 to 1500 microns in diameter and with different degrees of roundness. During production, glass beads can be combined into the road marking material (intermix beads); can be added when the road marking is applied (injection beads); or can be applied to the surface of newly applied road markings before they have set (drop-on beads).

It is important that the beads are embedded by at least 50% of their diameter to make sure that they do not become displaced. However, the level of retroreflectivity is reduced upon increasing the degree of bead embedment; therefore it is necessary to achieve an effective balance. It is expected that some of the beads will become covered with the marking material but this will soon be removed by passing traffic.

In addition, the quality of the retroreflection produced by the glass beads relies on the roundness and size of the beads, the viscosity of the road marking material, and the amount of beads added to the road marking. The larger beads with smoother, more round surfaces enable the highest retroreflective performance. An effective distribution level of glass beads is 400600 grams per square meter of road marking.

Mo-Sci Corporation, a global leader in high-quality precision glass technology, manufactures glass spheres for a variety of applications.8 Mo-Sci provides high-quality glass, which can be tailored to meet the specific requirements of projects. The company manufactures glass beads that are suitable for improving the visibility of road markings to tight specifications that ensure optimum reflectivity.

Conclusion

Road markings are an indispensable safety feature. Glass beads considerably increase the reflectivity of paints on the road, which in turn, considerably enhances their visibility and thus improves the safety of both drivers and pedestrians.

The only road marking additive that causes retroreflection is glass beads, which reflect more of the headlight beam back to the driver. As a result, glass beads make road markings to appear five times brighter at night time when compared to road markings without glass beads.

The only road marking additive that causes retroreflection is glass beads, which reflect more of the headlight beam back to the driver. As a result, glass beads make road markings to appear five times brighter at night time when compared to road markings without glass beads.