The project enables the development of new asphalt mixes for the construction of intelligent roads.
The MECATRIC project (Research and Development of New Asphalt Materials for Intelligent Road Construction) has as its mission to objective to develop new asphalt materials for the manufacture of smart roads, with new capabilities such as self-repair, improving road safety and reducing maintenance tasks and costs. This is achieved by endowing the road with magnetic/electrical characteristics that react to or can be detected by devices associated with magnetic fields.
This Project/Programme is financed up to 80% with resources from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) allocated to the Instituto de Fomento de la Región de Murcia under the Global Grant by Commission Decision C (2015)3408, approving the Operational Programme for Community intervention ERDF 2014-2020 under the Investment for growth and jobs objective, in the Autonomous Community of Murcia, as a Qualified Region in transition.
In recent years, the concept of intelligent roads has emerged. It is a broad and integrative concept that incorporates all aspects and efforts for the improvement of the road sector, such as environmental improvements, traffic management technology, life cycle analysis in construction and operation, and improved road design. These roads are intended to be characterised by advanced technology in safety, vehicle charging and connectivity; therefore, the main objectives are to increase driving efficiency, improve safety and reduce pollution.
The aim of the project is to study different types of waste that can be incorporated into asphalt mixes and provide roads with intelligent properties.
During the implementation of the project, first of all, the inclusion in the material mix that provide it with intelligent properties: such as graphene and metallic materials. Then, different self-repair methods have been studied: microwaves, induction and infrared, achieving the repair of existing cracks and fissures.
CTCON has carried out the complete development of all the work in each of the stages and tasks defined throughout the project. Additionally, given the complexity and magnitude of some of the tasks, this project has had the collaboration of the UPCT (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Manufacturing) given its proven experience in image analysis for the characterisation of materials.
