I-Corps: Novel Material System and Design for Thermal Management of Asphalt Pavements

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is create a new material system of pavements for maintenance saving, safety enhancement, and lifetime extension. The material system can be integrated into a wide range of potential pavement applications from parking lots, to highway ramps, and driveways. The potential customer includes general managers or ground service managers of commercial and residential buildings with large parking lots, officials at the Department of Transportation and Department of Public Works, and even homeowners with driveways. The successful adoption of the technology may result in reducing snow removal costs, reducing parking lots/roads/highways maintenance costs, and lessening accident rates in snowy or icy conditions in winter. The technology may also be used to potentially mitigate pavement distresses due to high temperatures, thereby extending the lifespan of roads and other infrastructure.

This I-Corps project is to identify the market and establish the novel pavement technology for commercialization and technology transfer. Inspired by human skin, the proposed asphalt pavement system utilizes solar and geothermal energy to regulate the surface temperature, at which the materials can exhibit the better performance. Asphalt pavements can be damaged or degraded by various weather conditions. To address these challenges, this project develops a multifunctional material system for self-heating and cooling, performance monitoring, self-sensing, and self-healing of asphalt pavements. The system consists of heat exchange loops buried in pavement overlays, which will be heated or cooled using geothermal and solar energy via circulating thermal fluids. The heat collected and stored underground in summer will be used in winter. Carbon nanotube modified foamed asphalt has been developed for better thermal conductivity and strength.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.