An IITian, Now A Professor In Canada Invented Futuristic Roads For India That Can Repair Itself
Nobody is unknown to the pitiable quality of Indian roads. It only takes one monsoon to turn these roads into a self-destructing mode. While you fight the unaccountable pits on roads, an Indian professor teaching in Canada found a brilliant way to ensure that the road mends itself without any added cost.
Using advanced materials and technology, he created self-repairing roads that are cost effective, have greater longevity and is sustainable.
Hailing from Nagpur, Nemkumar Banthia is a professor in the department of civil engineering at the University Of British Columbia (UBC). He moved to Canada 34 years ago and that’s when his search for better roads started.
In a village about 90 km from Bengaluru, Banthia took a project of constructing such advanced roads and moulding a better way for the villagers. Working under the Canada-India Research Center of Excellence IC-IMPACTS, where he is a scientific director, he found a way of giving new life to Indian roads. These roads are economic friendly and will cost less. About 60% of the cement is replaced with fly ash, thus curbing the usual carbon footprint, especially as cement production releases greenhouse gases.
The project was completed last year in late winters and has now survived all four seasons. It can now be claimed as a success.
The thickness of the road is 60% lesser than that of a typical Indian road. This also reduces the cost of production and materials used.
The high strength concrete is supplemented with fibre reinforcement with nano-coating enables the road in self-healing by absorbing water and keeping it hydrated.
"These are fibres which have a hydrophilic nano-coating on them. Hydrophilia means they attract water and this water then becomes available for crack healing. Every time you have a crack, you always have unhydrated cement and this water is now giving it the hydration capability, producing further silicates which actually closes the crack in time." Banthia said.
According to him, the roads may last as much as 15 years, more than the average lifespan of Indian roads. It's also 30% cheaper in terms of a first-time cost, though the savings, he said.
The project is destined to go places with India needing nearly 2.4 million km roads for the rural development. Once completed, the project will be replicated in different states, starting Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.
He further added that the respective project is just not restricted to India and it will soon be constructed in parts of Canada.
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