The UK has developed asphalt that self-seals potholes and cracks

The basic material for road construction, asphalt, is subject to deformation and deterioration over time, resulting in potholes on the roadway. Every year, huge sums are spent on road repairs around the world, to which must be added the enormous cost of repairing vehicles damaged by off-roading.

The processes of asphalt deterioration are not yet fully understood. For example, one cause may be the hardening of bitumen due to oxidation. To solve this problem, scientists at King’s College London and Swansea University, together with colleagues from Chile, are looking for ways to reverse this process and learn how to “glue” asphalt together.

To help develop regenerating asphalt, the researchers have enlisted the help of Google Cloud’s artificial intelligence. The key ingredient should be a mixture of natural spores in microcapsules and “rejuvenating” substances based on industrial waste. Lab results have shown the new asphalt’s ability to seal microcracks in less than an hour.

The mix contains tiny plant spores in capsules filled with recycled oils. The microcapsules are thinner than a human hair in size. When the pavement is exposed to passing traffic, the capsules begin to release oil that softens the bitumen, which then causes it to self-adhere. Essentially, the asphalt repairs cracks on its own.

AI algorithms have been used to analyze organic molecules in bitumen to provide information about the molecular structure and behavior of asphalt materials. The research resulted in the development of models that accelerate atomic simulations and facilitate the study of crack formation processes.