Hydraulic Controller and Environmental Chamber for Characterization of Smart Construction Materials and High-Performance Asphalt Concrete Mixes

我们老化的交通基础设施要求交通机构每年花费数百万美元用于路面维护和修复活动。在全国范围内，加拿大有超过1，000，000公里的道路，其中包括超过30，000公里的高速公路，其中该网络的主要部分是用沥青材料铺设的。虽然在过去的几十年里，施工技术已经发展，但开裂仍然是最普遍的路面退化模式。交通荷载、气候条件和沥青材料的质量是影响路面性能的主要因素。鉴于材料科学和工程材料技术的最新突破，可以开发创新材料以实现更好的耐久性，并最终节省大量纳税人的钱，这些钱目前必须花在修复恶化的路面上（即，裂缝、凹坑等）。在滑铁卢大学，研究人员正在开展世界领先的研究计划，以充分利用创新智能材料的潜力，如自修复沥青混凝土混合料，通过纳米改性的高性能沥青，相变材料，生物基可持续材料以及其他几种具有显著增强性能的创新替代建筑材料。滑铁卢大学土木与环境工程系的研究人员正在与国家和国际机构合作，研究创新和可持续的方法，以促进加拿大和国际上铺装道路网络的安全，经济和质量。Baaj教授是路面和运输技术中心（CPATT）主任，是国际建筑材料、系统和结构实验室和专家联盟沥青路面材料裂缝愈合委员会主席。这项NSERC资助为研究人员提供了在加拿大设计可持续，更耐用的道路的能力大大增强，从而在降低生命周期成本和能源消耗方面为社会带来了实质性利益。

Our aging transportation infrastructure requires transportation agencies to spend millions of dollars every year on pavement maintenance and rehabilitation activities. Nationwide, Canada has over 1,000,000 km of road including over 30,000 km of highway, where the major part of this network is paved with asphalt materials. While construction technologies have evolved during the past several decades, cracking is still the most prevalent deterioration mode of pavements. Traffic loading, climatic conditions, and quality of asphalt material majorly contribute to the performance of pavements. In light of the recent breakthroughs in material sciences and engineered materials technology, innovative materials can be developed to achieve better durability and ultimately save huge amounts of tax payers money which currently has to be spent on repairing deteriorated pavements (i.e., cracks, potholes, etc.). At the University of Waterloo, researchers are working on world-leading research program to fully exploit the potentials of using innovative smart materials such as self-healing asphalt concrete mixes, high-performance asphalt through nanomodification, phase-change materials, bio-based sustainable materials, and several other innovative alternative construction materials with significant enhanced properties. Researchers from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Waterloo are collaborating with national and international institutions on innovative and sustainable approaches to promote the safety, economy, and quality of the paved roadway network in Canada and internationally. Professor Baaj, the director of the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT), chairs the crack-healing of asphalt pavement materials committee of the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures. This NSERC funding provides the researchers with a greatly enhanced ability to design sustainable, more durable roadways in Canada, resulting in substantial benefits to society in terms of reduced life-cycle costs and energy consumption.