This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will assess the performance of autonomic-healing concrete asphalt through large-scale testing. Each year, about 500 million tons of hot mix asphalt is produced in America, with an average price of $80 per ton. Compared to concrete, hot mix asphalt features lower material cost, but is prone to fatigue cracking when subject to repeated traffic loads. Developing an autonomic-healing concrete asphalt that will actively arrest the microcrack propagation is of great importance and provides an economic savings.
The broader/commercial impact of this technology is a cost saving of approximately $340,000 for each mile of pavement construction.
