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Innovation News
ROADS
Heat pumps in roads to prevent potholes
The University of Surrey researchers are to trial the use of ground source heat pumps in roads to keep them cool in hot weather and to warm them when temperatures drop. It is hoped this will reduce stress on the road surface and prevent potholes.
University of Surrey lecturer Benyi Cao has a £625,000 five-year research fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering to test the new approach. He will create a laboratory scale model road segment with a heat pump, to evaluate the concept before a full scale field trials on UK roads and a full life cycle assessment.
Cao believes the project could improve major road maintenance and upgrades, and keep roads resilient to climate change.
WATER
Thames Water to develop no-dig mains repair machines
Thames Water has awarded consultant Jacobs a contract to develop technology that can fix leaks in water mains without the need to dig a hole. It will develop a remote control repair instrument small enough to travel inside water mains.
Thames Water is also working with Synthotech, which supplies engineering solutions for utilities, including live CCTV systems and in-pipe robots.
Its “No Dig Leak Repair Technology” development plan will be submitted to the Ofwat Innovation Fund, a £200M pot set up by the water regulator to encourage water sector innovation.
ROADS
Gully sensors to warn of flood risk on Devon roads
Devon County Council has appointed Previsico to trial connected water and silt level sensors along key its highway gullies.
The Devon Resilience Innovation Project (Drip) Smart Gullies Trial is designed to mitigate floods on major roads. Previsico’s connected sensors will be assessed on their capacity to detect when gullies need to be cleared and work as a flood warning system. They will be installed from autumn 2023 to spring 2025.
Pilot data will be captured and council staff will adapt gully maintenance schedules based on the data findings.
MATERIALS
Coffee could boost the strength of concrete by 30%
Researchers at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University in Australia have discovered that replacing some of the sand content of concrete with used coffee grounds could make the material as much as 30% stronger.
Tests showed that pyrolysing coffee waste at 350°C to produce biochar led to the improvement. Optimal results were delivered when 15% of the sand content was replaced with the biochar.
The strength gains came from the cement paste penetrating the biochar pores to strengthen the porous structure and internal curing.
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