A methodological review on self-healing asphalt pavements

Maintenance and rehabilitation at appropriate time is essential for the asphalt pavements to serve the traffic till the end of their design lives. However, frequent production and application of asphalt mixes for maintenance is not only uneconomical, but also generates lot of greenhouse gases. Therefore, different technologies have been evolved for internal rectification of the defects before they are observed through naked eyes, which are popularly known as self-healing technologies. Self-healing in pavements can be achieved through incorporation of healing agents, induction heating, microwave heating, and other healing technologies, which use different nanomaterials, and polymers as self-healing additives in asphalt. Different hybrid technologies have also been studied for self-healing of asphalt. This paper provides a general outlook on the healing mechanisms, design, and implementation of different self-healing technologies in asphalt pavements. The paper also identifies scope for further research in this area, which will serve as a foundation for further advancement in self-healing technologies, as most of them are still in their early stages of research.