The need to improve urban infrastructure is one of the Grand Engineering Challenges facing the world today. This very broad topic encompasses the physical structures that make up a city - buildings, roads, and transportation as well as the technology that go with all of these. Our group chose to focus on the infrastructure of roads, and more specifically on the longevity of the asphalt used to pave roads, especially in preventing potholes. We found that asphalt needs to settle for 7 days in order to settle correctly, something that rarely occurs after the initial creation of the roads. Typically roads only close for a day or less for small repairs, meaning that the gravel under the asphalt is rarely settled correctly. With unsettled road surfaces potholes form more quickly and more frequently due to the uneven surface of the roads. When a car drives over potholes it can disrupt the alignment of cars and if these potholes are large enough they can cause further damage to the cars suspension and tires. This can also cause disruptions in traffic patterns because of how often roads must be closed for maintenance and repaving. This affects most areas but is prevalent in the Triangle in low lying drainage areas and along regularly traveled roads. We are studying the how different aggregate compositions change the durability of the asphalt and if a new design could be more durable. We are doing this by considering the strengths and weaknesses of existing asphalt compositions and creating a new composition of aggregate that we think would be better and would make driving better for the community.
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