We develop and optimize innovative energy and resource saving bitumen-based materials or systems for use and re-use in multifunctional traffic infrastructure. We are combining the knowledge of concrete and asphalt experts for new solutions in pavement construction. Notable examples are composite pavements (e.g., semi-flexible pavements with cement grout cast into porous asphalt), foamed bitumen and bitumen emulsion-cement composites.

We help to solve current problems, for example to reduce the large excess in Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement material (RAP). In order to increase the RAP proportion in new pavements, rejuvenators are required to restore the original property of the aged, oxidized bitumen. In our research, we help road authorities by investigating the long-term behavior of highly recycled pavements and propose adequate testing methods to guarantee a long lifetime. We aim to support industrial partners in the development of new pavement technologies like in the case of rejuvenators, with fundamental knowledge about the mechanisms of the rejuvenation process.

Other projects aim at exploiting novel manufacturing technologies to make efficient use of materials and labor in pavement engineering, for example by robotic reinforcement of pavements or by manufacturing artificial aggregates with optimized shape by 3D printing.

Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of using different types of waste in asphalt pavements, including recycled concrete aggregates, waste tires and waste plastic.