Whether blow-ups, ruts or frost holes - extreme weather conditions hit our roads very hard. A climate management system integrated into the asphalt could help in the future.
The durability and safety of motorways suffer, among other things, from extreme cold and heat. In order to mitigate the effects of the weather, a climate management system integrated into the road surface could help in the future. The Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) wants to test this technology in practice and is investigating various possibilities and effects of road temperature control on a 55-meter-long test facility near Cologne. Different implementations are determined in 5 test fields. The construction work is currently being completed. The plant is to remain in operation for three years.
In three test fields, the road sections with flow-through intermediate layers and two with pipe systems are tempered. Among other things, different layer thicknesses and different laying patterns are tested. Built-in sensors should measure effects, thermal imaging cameras monitor the surface temperatures. The system makes it possible to control the temperature of the test fields separately. In the future, solutions for controlling the temperature of exposed road sections could be developed from the experimental setup. The advantage: In winter, the formation of ice and frost damage can be prevented, and in summer extreme heating of the asphalt can be prevented. The latter could in turn reduce the formation of ruts and increase the service life of the lanes.