Materials scientist Erik Schlangen at Delft University is experimenting with asphalt embedded with tiny steel fibers making it electrically conductive. Running an electrical current across the road (by way of an enormous magnet, so the process technically isn’t entirely self-healing) heats the fibers and surrounding asphalt, closing cracks and preventing potholes from forming.
Source 1 Accessed 4/17/18
His research suggests that the self-healing asphalt would cost about 25 percent more than conventional asphalt but could last twice as long, potentially saving the Netherlands millions of Euros each year.
Source 1 Accessed 4/17/18
the cost of a new asphalt paved driveway ranges from $2 to $5 per square foot installed as of 2013, with an average of around $3 to $4 per square foot
Source 2 Accessed 4/19/18
Self healing asphalt uses magnetic metals to be mixed into the asphalt in which a magnet is used to heat and partially reliquify the asphalt to fix any cracks and errors in the road
Source 3 Accessed 4/17/18
NCDOT crews work proactively to maintain and repair about 80,000 miles of state-maintained roads in North Carolina – enough to drive from Wilmington to Barstow, Calif., 31 times. Because of the vast amount of roads, NCDOT typically only patches delaminations if they are severe. There simply is not enough funding to patch every roadway imperfection
Source 5 Accessed 4/24/18
Raleigh’s assistant director of transportation, Chris McGee, has reported that the city has three crews working full-time filling holes and patching rough spots. They’re busier this time of year because the repeated freezing and thawing of a North Carolina winter allows water to get into cracks in the pavement and expand as ice, pushing loose chunks of asphalt.
Source 4 Accessed 4/24/18
Asphalt must be installed over a series of levels. First the ground must be leveled and graded. The prime grade is ¼” per foot. A 3k lb roller is required to flatten the base level. Then a crushed aggregate is used about 8” thick. Thena 2-3” layer of asphalt. The entire thing then has to settle for a week to ensure maximum life time.
Source 6 Accessed 4/24/18
2. Kelly, Jasey. “How to Lay Landscape Rock.” Home Guides , SF Gate, 14 Feb. 2018, homeguides.sfgate.com/lay-landscape-rock-45372.html.
3. Schlangen, Erik. “Self Healing Asphalt.” Blogspot, TU Delft, 27 Mar. 2010, selfhealingasphalt.blogspot.com/p/background-principle.html.
4. Stradling, Richard. “As Potholes Proliferate in the Triangle, You Gotta Know Who to Call.”Newsobserver, News & Observer, 14 Feb. 2018, www.newsobserver.com/news/traffic/article200055744.html.
5. Webmaster. “Potholes.” North Carolina Department of Transportation, NC DOT, www.ncdot.gov/contact/report/pothole/potholes.html.
6. Williams, Anthony. “How to Install Asphalt.” WikiHow, TC Williams, 27 June 2017, www.wikihow.com/Install-Asphalt.