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Bacterial self-healing of asphalt pavements: a sustainable bio-based alternative
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DOI：10.1080/10298436.2026.2695149.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Asphalt pavements progressively develop microcracks under repeated traffic loading, environmental actions, and aging, accelerating performance loss and increasing maintenance demand. While many self-healing approaches for asphalt rely on externally supplied energy, bio-mediated healing has only recently begun to be explored for asphalt mixtures. This study presents a laboratory scale proof-of-concept evaluation of bacterial treatment as a bio-assisted crack repair strategy for asphalt pavements through crack closure, mechanical recovery, and microstructural assessment. Pre-cracked hot mix asphalt specimens were treated with a bacterial agent and cured for short/long term (7, 14, 28, and 98 days). Healing performance was evaluated using the Crack Healing Index (CHI) derived from optical microscopy and image analysis, and the Strength Recovery Index (SRI) obtained from semi-circular bending tests, while SEM–EDX analyses were performed to investigate crack-region deposits. CHI increased progressively from 27% to 49%, whereas mechanical recovery showed its most pronounced improvement between 14 and 28 days. SEM–EDX observations further revealed localized Ca-bearing deposits and crack bridging features consistent with bio-assisted mineralization. Overall, the findings provide initial laboratory evidence that bacterial treatment can contribute to crack sealing and partial mechanical recovery in asphalt mixtures, although further validation is required before practical implementation.
Keywords:
Asphalt pavement deformation
crack closure
bacterial self-healing
bio-based materials
sustainable asphalt pavements
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