BRIGHTENING

Climate change and the associated extreme weather events represent a major challenge, especially in road construction of the future. For example, hot spells lead to both dark traffic areas and the surrounding environment heating up considerably. In inner cities, this leads to heat islands and also to increased deformities in the asphalt top layer. The consequences are not only reduced traffic safety due to cracks in the lanes but also a shorter service life for the road.

To improve the resilience of traffic areas in relation to climate change, we offer a brightening method using high-pressure water jets. The mode of operation is to remove the dark bitumen in a targeted manner near the surface without any substantial damage to the asphalt matrix. This exposes the aggregate underneath. The prerequisite for this is that the asphalt has been produced with a light aggregate. This method makes it possible to already achieve the brightening properties of the aggregate in the asphalt during construction (new construction).

As a result, the surface/component temperature can be significantly lowered, which leads to higher deformation resistance and thus to a longer service life. In addition, the improved reflection and absorption behaviour can be used to improve the urban climate (heat islands).
Other priorities are:

• Reducing energy consumption in street lighting
• Improving visibility at night
• Minimising the emission of microplastics through bitumen removal