Optimizing the valorization of industrial by-products for the induction healing of asphalt mixtures

Abstract

Self-healing within asphalt pavements is the process whereby road cracks can be repaired automatically when thermal and mechanical conditions are met. To accelerate and improve this healing process, metal particles are added to asphalt mixtures. However, thisapproach is costly both in economic and environmental terms due to the use of virgin metallic particles. So, even though the self-healing of asphalt mixtures has been widely addressed in experimental terms over the years, there is a lack of research aimed at modelling this phenomenon, especially with the purpose of optimizing the use of metal particles through the valorization of industrial by-products. As such, the goal of this study was to develop a statistical methodology to model the healing capacity of asphalt concrete mixtures (AC-16) from the characteristics of the metal particles added and the time and intensity used for magnetic induction. Five metal particles were used as heating inductors, including four types of industrial by-products aimed at transforming waste products into material for use in the road sector. The proposed approach consisted of a combination of cluster algorithms, multiple regression analysis and response optimization, which were applied to model laboratory data obtained after testing asphalt concrete mixtures containing these inductors. The results proved the accuracy of the statistical methods used to reproduce the experimental behaviour of the asphalt mixtures, which enabled the authors to determine the optimal amount of industrial by-products and time needed to make the self-healing process as efficient as possible.

Laboratory and Statistical Analysis of the Fatigue Response of Self-Healing Asphalt Mixtures Containing Metal By-Products

“…The second group (SB2) included by-products from sieving and aspiration processes (7.9%), such that they performed as substitutes for both fine aggregates and filler. These two byproducts were selected for testing due to their remarkable response in terms of self-healing and high waste content, respectively [10].…”

“…Self-healing has evolved a lot in the past few years due to its potential to produce more economically and environmentally efficient asphalt mixtures, 2 of 14 especially when adding metal by-products [6]. This has resulted in a variety of studies where self-healing is tested in laboratory [7,8] and modeled using different numerical methods [9,10].…”

A Review of the Contribution of Mechanomutable Asphalt Materials Towards Addressing the Upcoming Challenges of Asphalt Pavements

“…This has the effect of melting possible snow and ice on the road and increasing user safety. For the second maintenance activity, a magnetic field is applied to the MAM to produce a controlled increase in temperatures between 30 • C and 70 • C, via induction [19,41] and microwaves [19], which is the interval of temperatures between which the binder flows as a Newtonian fluid and is then able to seal potential cracks in the pavement [22].…”