SBIR Phase I: Develop an Autonomic-Healing Hot Mix Asphalt

小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将研究开发自主修复热混合沥青的可行性。本研究的主要目的是开发自愈热拌沥青（通过固化剂的相分散），积极地阻止微裂缝。这项研究将包括力学测试，以确定自主愈合热混合沥青的愈合效率，在断裂载荷方面，并将结果与传统热混合沥青的结果进行比较。该研究还将确定分散愈合剂斑点的最佳施用量和最佳尺寸。美国的高速公路系统包括390多万英里的高速公路、主干道以及地方道路和街道。在美国，大约96%的铺砌道路都是用热混合沥青铺就的。2000年公路的总开支为1267亿元。由于石油短缺和需求量大，热拌沥青的价格持续攀升。提高交通建设用沥青的使用寿命将有助于减少对原油的需求。此外，延长热拌沥青的使用寿命将延长修复周期，从而降低修复/重建期间的成本和拥堵，并提高工作区驾驶员和工人的安全性。如果这项技术被证明是可行的，由于热混合沥青的寿命延长，每年有可能节省200亿美元。

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of developing autonomic-healing hot mix asphalt. A major objective of this proposed study is to develop self-healing hot mix asphalt (by means of phase-dispersion of healing agent) that would actively arrest microcracks. This study will involve mechanical tests to determine the healing efficiency of autonomic-healing hot mix asphalt, in terms of fracture load, and results will be compared to those obtained from traditional hot mix asphalt. The proposed study also will determine the optimum application rate and the optimum size of the dispersed healing agent spot. America's highway system includes more than 3.9 million miles of highways, arterials, and local roads and streets. About ninety-six percent of paved roads in America are surfaced with hot mix asphalt. Total disbursements for highways in year 2000 were 126.7 billions dollars. The price of hot mix asphalt continues to climb due to oil shortage and large demand. Improving the life of asphalt used in transportation construction will contribute to reducing the demand for crude oil. In addition, extending the life of hot mix asphalt will prolong the rehabilitation cycle periods, which reduces the costs and congestion during rehabilitation/reconstruction and increases the safety of both drivers and workers in the work zone. This technology, if proven feasible, has the potential to save $20 billions each year as a result of extended life of hot mix asphalt.