InfrastructureDeveloping materials for more resilient concrete pavements
Aging roadways pose a growing threat to transportation infrastructure which is critical to the health of economies throughout the world. Beyond the daunting task of funding extensive restoration efforts, there is an equally pressing challenge to find ways to rebuild major roads which are more sustainable. Researchers have been experimenting with what are called phase-change materials to produce more resilient concrete surfaces for roads and bridges. Phase-change materials are substances which respond to temperature variations by changing their state from solid to liquid or vice versa, and can be sourced from petroleum (such as paraffin wax) or be plant-based. A new project is exploring the use of a phase-change material solution for reducing or preventing temperature-related cracks in concrete pavement.
Neithalat and student in lab // Source: asu.edu
Aging roadways pose a growing threat to transportation infrastructure which is critical to the health of economies throughout the world.
Beyond the daunting task of funding extensive restoration efforts, there is an equally pressing challenge to find ways to rebuild major roads which are more sustainable. The need is one of the main motivating factors behind a new international initiative called Infravation, a combination of infrastructure and innovation. The European Commission — an offshoot of the European Union — initiated the effort, inviting engineers and scientists in Europe and the United States to propose research projects to develop technological solutions.
The commission considered around 100 proposals. Fewer than ten have been selected, including two projects to be led by researchers in the United States, one of them by Arizona State University engineer Narayanan Neithalath.
High-performance concrete materials in demand
ASU reports that Neithalath has been experimenting with what are called phase-change materials to produce more resilient concrete surfaces for roads and bridges.
Working with colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), he is finishing up a National Science Foundation-funded project which is exploring the use of a phase-change material solution for reducing or preventing temperature-related cracks in concrete pavement.
Through the new Infravation project, he and his UCLA partners will expand their work in collaboration with researchers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, the Swiss Federal Institute for Materials (EMPA), and the Tecnalia Research and Innovation organization in Spain.
Since cement concrete is a major component of transportation infrastructure, countries throughout the world are extremely interested in long-lasting and high-performing concrete materials, Neithalath said.
His Infravation group has been awarded $1.6 million to find out whether concrete solutions containing a phase-change material can significantly enhance the durability of concrete pavements and bridge decks.
Helping pavements cope with stress
Phase-change materials are substances which respond to temperature variations by changing their state from solid to liquid or vice versa, and can be sourced from petroleum (such as paraffin wax) or be plant-based.
“We know how the materials perform under laboratory conditions. Now we have to see if it holds up when applied at larger scales and real-life loading and environmental conditions,” said Neithalath, an associate professor of civil, environmental and sustainable engineering in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
