Induction heating for closing cracks in asphalt concrete

Asphalt pavements are the most commonly road pavements in the UK. Preserving them in a proper state fundamentally affects the economy and quality of life. However, their surveillance and maintenance are cost and time intensive, and asphalt concrete still has to be replaced after 15 years of use. Applying induction heating into the road could make pavements last much longer by stimulating the asphalt`s property of self-healing. Experimental results have found that a crack can be fully induction-healed, for at least 5 times. The efficiency of self-healing, however, depends on the temperature of the material and the temperature should be concentrated in the cracks alone. Thus, the challenge of this research is to discover how to apply energy only locally into the cracks without dispersing energy into undesired spaces. With this purpose, experimental and mathematical models of asphalt concrete self-healing under induction heating will be developed.
This research will serve to understand the relationships between induction heating, the particles used to heat the mixture, the heat flow through asphalt concrete and its effect on asphalt self-healing. We will discover the type of particles, intensities and frequencies of induction heating which are more appropriate for healing, how to concentrate the heat in the damaged areas and the relationship between the amount of energy induced and the healing of asphalt concrete.

In the short term, results of this project will make a major impact in the understanding of engineered systems for asphalt self-healing.
In the medium term, results of this project will have a major impact in the way in which asphalt roads are built and maintained, as we are in the path of creating a pavement that can potentially survive 5 times longer, at a minimum extra cost.
In the long term, results of this project will have a major impact in the pavement construction industry. Asphalt self-healing has the potential to become a disruptive technology in pavements maintenance. Results of this project will also have a major impact in society, as traffic jams due to maintenance works will almost disappear. Accidents due to the bad conditions of the road will also be reduced. Less fuel will be used by vehicles in the roads.
Major beneficiaries will be: policy makers and maintenance funders, including the Highways Agency, the Department for Transport and Local Government; the wider public, through safer roads, reduced travel times and lower costs. In addition, a completely new industrial market, pavement healing, may open.
Whilst the focus of this project is on asphaltic materials, the approach has other applications, such healing thermoplastic polymers or welding polymers.
In addition, international industries will be targeted through presentation of research results at various international conferences. Moreover, results will be targeted for publication in peer-reviewed journals. These international publications are targeted to a public composed of industries and researchers.
Furthermore, the Nottingham Asphalt Research Consortium (NARC) will provide access to a wide range of industrial organisations (such as Aggregate Industries, Bitumen Industries and Pavement Industries). The progresses of this research will be presented in the different research meetings that take place every year.
Moreover, economic and industrial beneficiaries will be updated with the results through publication of research at specialized journals, such as the Pavior Magazine, or the New Civil Engineer Journal. Results will be presented at national events, such as the conference UK Transport, organized by the Institution of Civil Engineering (ICE), which will be held in London in 2015 or 2016, where a high number of industrial members will be present.
Societal beneficiaries will be informed about asphalt self-healing through press notes into media, such as the Metro newspaper. The PI has done this before, in the newspapers Blick am Abend and 20 Minutes, in Switzerland, gaining a great attention by the public and by local industries. Additionally, research will be presented at the UCAS Open Days of the University. Poster and video displays will be created to highline the research and implications of the work to society.
As, from the results generated in this project there may be particular applications of interest for the asphalt industry, the Business Development Manager of the Infrastructure and Geomatics Division at the UoN will keep a constant overview of the research, both during and after the project has finished, to assess if there is Intellectual Property that should be protected.
The impact activities will be taken by the PI. The PI has experience working as a pavement engineer for more than 8 years and he has been researching asphalt self-healing for more than 5 years. He will use his international contacts to ensure a good dissemination of results. In addition, he works for the Nottingham Transportation Engineering Centre (NTEC), which is the main co-ordinator of the NARC consortium and has extensive industry and administration contacts.