Road That Repairs Itself - Made Possible By Self-Healing Asphalt
This news isn't going to please the road maintenance contractors in India. Erik Schlangen, engineering professor at Delft University Of Technology has developed a self-healing alphalt that can be used in road construction with double the lifespan of the traditional porous variety. Typically, the porous asphalt is used in construction of roads. Such roads help reducing the noise pollution and draining water quickly the downside is that it's not very durable and potholes can appear in just a few years, leading to maintenance costs and possibilities of road accidents.
Schlangen explains that because of the numerous pores, the rate of oxidation is very high and the asphalt becomes brittle in a shorter span of time resulting into cracks. These cracks become larger over time and turn into potholes. The typical lifespan of asphalt road would be approximately 8 years before the topmost layer needs a replacement.
The solution to this problem lies in using small amounts of steel wool fibers (<1% of volume) and applying induction plate to it. The steel wool heats up while meling the bitumen around it and this fills up the micro cracks.
Trials of this new type of road construction have been done on 400 meter section of road in Netherlands. Speaking on the economics of this new type of road construction, Schlangen says that it costs a bit more than traditional ways, but the cost saving is huge in the longer term. Watch the TEDxDelft speech to see Schlangen speaking and demonstrating his new self healing asphalt -
Via: #-Link-Snipped-#
Schlangen explains that because of the numerous pores, the rate of oxidation is very high and the asphalt becomes brittle in a shorter span of time resulting into cracks. These cracks become larger over time and turn into potholes. The typical lifespan of asphalt road would be approximately 8 years before the topmost layer needs a replacement.
The solution to this problem lies in using small amounts of steel wool fibers (<1% of volume) and applying induction plate to it. The steel wool heats up while meling the bitumen around it and this fills up the micro cracks.
Trials of this new type of road construction have been done on 400 meter section of road in Netherlands. Speaking on the economics of this new type of road construction, Schlangen says that it costs a bit more than traditional ways, but the cost saving is huge in the longer term. Watch the TEDxDelft speech to see Schlangen speaking and demonstrating his new self healing asphalt -
Via: #-Link-Snipped-#
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