We can have quieter roads with a new asphalt mix development

"Application-oriented development and optimisation of asphalt mix surface properties..." was the title of the research project Colas Hungária Építőipari Zrt. carried out in the framework of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office's "Support for market-driven research, development and innovation projects". According to the press release, the total amount of the non-refundable grant for the project, which cost 246 million HUF, was 109.654.260 HUF.

Ambiotic idea

The project started in spring 2020 and was successfully completed by Colas on 31 December 2023. The aim of the research was the application-oriented development of a non-traditional asphalt mix that is able to meet as many of the following needs as possible:

• reduces noise pollution,
• has a road safety function,
• aesthetically pleasing and in keeping with the environment.

Related to this, the project included the development of a decision support flow chart to help clients and designers to select the optimal mix for the given design task, which was investigated during the research.

Multiple blend formulations have been developed

The research involved the development of a low-noise asphalt mix that helps to reduce traffic noise levels near roads, and whose sound-absorbing capacity was optimised in laboratory conditions using impedance tube tests. This has allowed the noise reduction potential of several potential base material types and mix compositions to be measured. The asphalt mix mixture developed in this way was tested in a pilot phase, which confirmed the results of the laboratory measurements and showed improved operational characteristics compared to conventional pavements with this function.

Asphalt mixtures for road safety or heat island prevention were investigated to develop products that, in addition to their primary use characteristics, also had aesthetic or eye-catching properties as secondary parameters.