Self Healing Aspalt on the A58

On this Blog we will give info on the test track with Self Healing Asphalt that is built on the A58 near Vlissingen in The Netherlands. The Asphalt is a special type of ZOAB (very porous aphalt concrete) containing small steelwool fibres. A known but serious problem with ZOAB is ravelling: stones at the surface coming off in time due to microcracking in the binder. The special ZOAB that is developed at Delft University (sponsored by AgentschapNL) can be heated with induction energy due to the fibres that are present which closes the microcracks and with that extends the service life of the road.

Thursday, 23 December 2010

How the Self Healing Works:

In the new asphalt that is developed in this project small steelwol fibers are mixed in the bitumen. After some time (probably a few years or after a strong winter like we have now) when small microcracks occur in the bitumen and when the aggregates in the asphalt mix at the surface start to debond, the steelwool fibers are heated with induction energy. By heating up the fibers the bitumen will melt and close the cracks and repair the bond with the aggregates. It is important not to apply too much heating, because that would close all the pores in the porous asphalt.

The induction technique will be further developed and optimized in this project bij partner INTRON.

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