'Self-healing roads' could help fix pothole problem, scientists say
A senior lecturer at Swansea University told Sky News it was a "complex process" but that the aim was to "stimulate" materials to close cracks by themselves.
Potholes could soon heal themselves, according to a team of researchers.
We already have self-repairing potholes in Derbyshire. After a pothole is filled with ordinary tarmac, within a relatively short time it often repairs itself, gradually reinstating itself as a proper pothole.
Or is that not what they mean?
5 comments:
Near us we also have self-repairing crazy paving. It transforms rectangular slabs in a matter of weeks.
Amazing what they can do these days.
The French have been including shredded car tyres in road repair materials for yonks but, according to some numpty from the Ministry of Guesswork, quite a few years ago, what may work in France may not necessarily work in this country. But they didn't even try it to find out! We are governed by morons.
Penseivat
Sam - it is amazing, I hope people haven't been walking on it. We've encountered new paving where the slabs go up and down and make a pleasant clunking sound as you walk on them.
Penseivat - that sounds like an idea worth trying as there must be more and more damaged tyres available for a trial.
There is no research into road technology. Apart from the application of coal tar there has not been much advice since Roman times.
Also when roads and all services like gas, electric, water, sewage, telephones were all publicly owned there might have been some logic it letting all the services chew up the roads and create weak points around access points and above pipes etc. Now they are all privatised they should be told to get their stuff off, and from under our roads.
And we seem to be the nation to use rain drain access grids actually in the road edge surface. Elsewhere the weak drain is beside the road not in it.
There seems to be no incentive to really improve things. It would mean a loss of employment /money for too many.
Doonhamer - "There seems to be no incentive to really improve things."
I agree, it's a fundamental problem with the public sector where all manner of futility is substituted for genuine improvement. Even the efficiencies of IT tend to be patchy, clunky and not as useful as they should be. As you say, the potential for loss of employment or money acts as a permanent brake.
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