A team of scientists from Swansea University, King’s College London, and Chile is developing a self-healing asphalt road material that can mend its own cracks without maintenance or human intervention. The innovative material is made from biomass waste and designed with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). The team has found a way to reverse cracking and develop methods to “stitch” asphalt back together, creating more durable and sustainable roads.
The researchers used machine learning to study organic molecules in complex fluids like bitumen, which is the sticky black material in asphalt. They developed a new data-driven model to accelerate atomistic simulations, advancing research into bitumen oxidation and crack formation. The team also collaborated with Google Cloud to simulate the behavior of the bitumen on a computer.
To make the asphalt self-healing, the team incorporated tiny, porous materials known as spores, which are smaller than a strand of hair and produced by plants. These spores are filled with recycled oils, which are released when the asphalt begins to crack, helping to reverse the process. In laboratory experiments, this advanced asphalt material was shown to completely heal a microcrack on its surface in less than an hour.
The development of self-healing asphalt is significant because a substantial portion of carbon emissions from roads is linked to asphalt production. As the highway sector prioritizes carbon reduction to support the UK Government’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, advancing innovative bituminous materials for asphalt roads has become a key research priority.
The team’s research has enormous potential to improve infrastructure and advance sustainability around the world. The use of biomass waste and AI in the development of self-healing asphalt roads could offer a promising solution to the UK’s pothole problem, which is estimated to cost £143.5 million a year.