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Roads That Heal Themselves Tested In Netherlands
Erik Schlangen, an engineering professor at Delft University of Technology, has now come up with a way to increase the lifespan of asphalt roads. The reason asphalt roads degrade quickly is because the porous surface get oxidised very soon, resulting in the bitumen becoming brittle. Small cracks first appear, which grow over time, finally resulting in potholes.
The technique developed by Schlangen involves mixing steel with bitumen when roads are laid. Steel wool fibers, less than 1 percent in volume, is mixed with bitumen. During maintenance, an induction plate is used to heat up the steel fibers, which melt the bitumen, filling up the micro cracks.
Schlangen says, the lifespan of a regular road is 8 years before the top layer needs to be replaced. However, by mixing steel with bitumen the lifespan of the road is doubled. A test road, 400 meters long , in Netherlands has already shown the technique works.
As for the cost of this method, Schlangen says the initial cost of material used goes up by 25 percent. Also, initial investment is required in the form of procurement of induction vehicles to drive over the road to heat the steel. However, since the technique effectively doubles the lifespan of the road, long time saving outweighs the initial investment costs.
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