College student designs road material that eliminates potholes
Potholes. Need we say more?
If you live anywhere with even the slightest amount of moisture, you know the feeling of hitting one of those pockmarks in the road.
Potholes are caused when moisture builds up in the soil under roads. When a car drives over the weakened spot, it smashed the asphalt to bits.
It feels like we aren’t even done with construction “season” when the roads start to fall apart all over again. The cost of bad roads and the advanced technology and materials we’ve been able to develop lead us to believe there must be a better way.
One company has devoted itself to finding innovative solutions to everyday problems – and, better yet, they reward young people for trying to do the same.
The James Dyson Foundation is encouraging Mexican college student Israel Antonio BriseƱo Carmona to continue to innovate on his idea to create self-regenerating rubber pavement to build roads impervious to potholes.
With water being the main agent of road degredation, this young man has come up with a way to turn it into “a recovery agent” instead.
The student, who attends the Universidad AutĆ³noma de Coahuila in Saltillo, Mexico said:
“I was inspired to solve the problem that every time it rains in my city pavement gets damaged and it takes a lot of time to maintain a damaged street. I am determined to create a pavement capable of withstanding the rain.”
While his first idea was to utilize asphalt and other additives to build the demo roads, once he thought about just how many used and discarded tires contaminate his city, he decided to add a sustainable twist to his idea – he would recycle that rubber into road material.
There is also a regenerative aspect to his road plan. We already have concrete that regenerates with the help of bacteria, but BriseƱo is determined to use other materials to create the same effect.
He’s going to make a “putty” of rubber and other additives that creates calcium silicates when it comes into contact with water.
In other words, he’s trying to invent a new road material that can repair itself instead of degrade when it rains or snows. That’s how water becomes an agent of regeneration rather than degredation.
BriseƱo will work with engineers to make a prototype and then technical specifications will go to the communications and transportation secretary (SCT) in Mexico. The goal is to achieve certification from ONNCCE, the organization in charge of endorsing products used in construction in Mexico.
While he waits on that, he patented his idea in April under the name “Paflec.”
If Paflac is deemed promising by Mexican building authorities, BriseƱo hopes to start his own lucrative construction company with the new material.
And if he manages to make roads that don’t get potholes AND finds a way to recycle all of the old tires that litter the Earth in the process, we have the feeling that a construction company will be just the beginning of his illustrious career.
The James Dyson Award āis an international student design award that challenges young people to, ādesign something that solves a problem.’ā
It’s clear BriseƱo deserves it and we’re not only looking forward to his success but seeing just what other projects the Dyson award inspires to improve our lives.
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Source: The James Dyson Foundation, Israel Antonio BriseƱo Carmona via Facebook