Production of asphalt concrete with increased electromagnetic wave transmission features for use in inductive (wireless) electric road technology

In this doctoral thesis study, asphalt concrete containing various additives in different proportions with increased electromagnetic wave transmission properties was produced for potential use in inductive (wireless) electric road technology. According to the Marshall mixture design, the optimum bitumen content of the mixture was determined, and then asphalt concrete samples were obtained using graphite powder, waste glass powder, waste ceramics, quartz, ferrochrome and steel slag additives. The mechanical and volumetric properties of the samples were investigated performing Marshall Stability tests, while the micromorphological (structure/fabric) relationships between the constituents were studied by employing thin section and polished block analyses. To measure electromagnetic transmission, asphalt concrete with the same volume but larger surface area was produced as samples prepared according to the Marshall mix design. As a result, it has been revealed that waste glass powder and waste ceramic aggregate can be used in asphalt mixtures in terms of their mechanical and volumetric properties, at low rates and that they increase the shielding feature by reducing electromagnetic transmission in asphalt concrete. Quartz provides sufficient strength in the mixture due to its high hardness, but its air content exceeds the specification limits. Graphite powder and steel slag positively affected the strength properties, but as their proportions in the mixture increased, more binder was needed. Ferrochrome slag, on the other hand, showed the highest performance compared to the other materials, both in volumetric and mechanical properties of the mixture and in electromagnetic transmission properties, when used at 50% and 75% in the mixture.