Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Advanced Self-Healing Asphalt Reinforced by Graphene Structures: An Atomistic Insight
Published on: May 31, 2022
Investigation of the Potential Use of Calcium Alginate Capsules for Self-Healing in Porous Asphalt Concrete
Shi Xu1, Xueyan Liu2, Amir Tabaković3,4,5
1Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft 2628CN, The Netherlands. s.xu-1@tudelft.nl.
Abstract:
Improving the healing capacity of asphalt is proving to be an effective method to prolong the service life of an asphalt pavement. The calcium alginate capsules encapsulating rejuvenator have been developed and proved to provide successful localized crack healing in asphalt mastic. However, it is not known whether this self-healing asphalt system will improve healing capacity of a full asphalt mix. To this aim, this paper reports on study which investigate effect of the calcium alginate capsules onto self-healing capacity of the porous asphalt mix. X-ray computed tomography (XCT) was used to visualize the distribution of the capsules in porous asphalt. The effect of the capsules on fracture resistance of porous asphalt concrete was studied by semi-circular bending (SCB) tests. A semi-circular bending and healing programme was carried out to evaluate the healing effect of these capsules in porous asphalt concrete. Indirect Tensile Stiffness Modulus (ITSM) tests were employed in order to investigate the influence of the capsules on the stiffness of the porous asphalt concrete. The results indicate that incorporating calcium alginate capsules significantly improve the healing capacity of porous asphalt concrete without compromising its performance.
Related Concept Videos
Concrete
Workability of Concrete
Concrete's workability is determined by its resistance to internal forces that arise...
Reinforcements in Concrete
Prestressed Concrete
Pumped Concrete
For direct-acting pumps, the concrete enters the pump via the inlet valve under the action of gravity and suction created by the movement of the piston. This concrete is then forced into the pipeline and out through the outlet valve by the forward movement...
Finishing Concrete

