The E xploratory Advanced Research Program

approaches

for Highway Research

nanoscale

EXPLORATORY ADVANCED RESEARCH

Breakthrough Ideas for Highway Research
The Federal government 

spent approximately 

$1.5 billion on nanoscale 

research in FY 2008. Work 

directly related to highway 

research represented less than 

one-tenth of 1 percent of that 

figure. The Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA) is 

working closely with government, industry, academic, and 

international partners to push forward a strategic investment in nanoscale 

research. FHWA’s Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program has 

been investigating nanoscale research conducted in relation to highways, 

and this process led to a March 2009 workshop involving almost two 

dozen experts from academia and other Federal programs. These experts 

met to share their understanding of nanoscale research and to learn about 

key highway research issues in infrastructure, safety, operations, and environment.

Opportunities and Challenges for Nanoscale Research

Nanoscale science, or nanotechnology, is the understanding and control 

of matter at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers. 

One nanometer is 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

An opening question at the workshop for both program managers 

and researchers was, Why spotlight nanoscale opportunities in highway 

research? Highway transportation research engages in addressing broad, 

Michael Trentacoste, FHWA Associate Administrator 

for Research, Development, and Technology and TurnerFairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) Director, 

said at the opening of the workshop that, “FHWA needs 

new research methods and new partnerships to face broad 

challenges and to work toward crash-free, longer lasting, 

and lower impact highways.”
long-term societal goals, such as public health and safety, sustainability, 

and environmental stewardship. As scientific research moves to smaller 

scales, new and innovative research methods and partnerships are needed 

to solve complex questions. As with other areas of science and engineering, highway research also is moving toward investigating phenomena 

at smaller scales. Assessing relevant opportunities from work being developed for other industries can accelerate breakthroughs in highway research. Spotlighting nanoscale research can accelerate the ability of researchers to measure, model, and manipulate matter at the nanoscale in 

pursuit of solving highway research needs. 

As part of FHWA’s ongoing strategy, the workshop was a critical step in 

scoping areas of opportunity for investment and assessing funding levels 

for nanoscale research that support highway research needs. The workshop provided the opportunity to:

•	 Inform the highway research community about nanoscale studies relevant to highway research. 

•	 Inform nanoscale researchers about highway research needs. 

•	 Identify potential opportunities for investing EAR Program funds 

within the nanoscale focus areas.

The workshop already has promoted an open interchange of ideas 

among key leaders in nanoscale research relevant to FHWA programs. 

Nanotechnology promises breakthroughs in multiple areas, offering a potential for synergy and benefits across many traditional research focus 

areas. 

What Nanoscale Research 

Could Do for Highways

There are multiple potential nanoscale applications in highways. For 

example, concrete is a material 

containing pores on a nanoscale, 

a result of the chemical reaction 

between cement and water. Repeated exposure to deicing chemi-
cals causes oxidation, cracks, and long-term deterioration to occur in the 

structure. Utilizing nanotechnology to create smart self-healing materials 

and structures could lead to less frequent and faster construction, as well 

as to increased durability and improved performance, all helping to prevent catastrophic failure. 

The ability to constantly monitor materials also could offer improved 

predictive performance models. During construction, nanotechnology 

can allow for embedding increasingly smaller sensors throughout a structure or pavement. These sensors could be used for long-term monitoring 

of corrosion and could offer an invaluable tool in monitoring bridges. By 

using a car-mounted data reader, information from the embedded sensors 

could then easily and safely be collected as the vehicle passes.

Nanoscale Research for Safety and System Operations

How might application of 

nanoscale technologies change 

the current approach to intelligent vehicle systems and IntelliDriveSM? As an example, it is believed that nanoscale technology 

will provide a low-cost means 

to create an infrastructure that 

vehicle-based systems can use 

to maintain lane position and 

advise drivers of approaching 

intersections and interchanges. 

TFHRC Chief Scientist Jonathan Porter noted that, “The world beyond 

highway research has a much greater interest and investment in sensors 

and electronic devices. By engaging partners, we can identify ways to exploit this investment to solve transportation problems.” There is great potential for taking advantage of promising research from other industries.

Nanoscale Research for Environment Stewardship

There are several environmental applications for nanotechnology in highways. One example is the ability to monitor mobile source pollutants dur-
ing construction and operations by 

using nanoscale devices to bind 

with road-based pollutants. Lowcost environmental sensors could 

monitor the air, water, and soil 

quality, and the technology could 

allow large-scale monitoring of the 

operation to continually map pollution levels. Nanoscale research 

could lead to an increased use of 

recycled materials in pavements 

through a better understanding of 

bonding at the boundaries of different materials and the design of very 

thin coatings to improve the workability and durability of recycled 

materials, which would also help 

to reduce costs. Nanoscale research 

also could result in the development of smaller, lower cost sensors, 

which would use substantially less 

energy. Self-powered sensors also 

would contribute to the efficiency 

and reduced environmental impact 

of the highway network.

Long-Term Applications

As part of the Nanoscale Workshop, participants looked to the 

long-term potential for nanoscale 

research. Workshop participants 

envisioned research leading to: 

•	 New structural materials that 

could absorb increased force without catastrophic failure for appliNanotechnology and 

Pavements

Although much progress has 

been made in reducing concrete’s propensity to crack, this 

goal remains elusive. In 2008, 

FHWA launched “High-Performance Stress-Relaxing Cementitious Composites (SRCC) 

for Crack-Free Pavements and 

Transportation Structures,” 

an EAR Program project conducted at Texas A&M University’s Texas Transportation 

Institute. The project aims 

to make a concrete that is 50 

percent less likely to crack in a 

typical concrete transportation 

infrastructure under typical 

service conditions. The study 

is investigating SRCCs on two 

scales, nano to micrometer and 

micrometer to millimeter. On 

the nanoscale, the stress-relaxation effect of various materials 

occurs as nano cracks form at 

the interface of the cementpaste matrix molecules and the 

embedded SRCC molecules, 

releasing energy. After crack 

formation, further relaxation 

results from sliding friction 

at the interface. The project is 

expected to conclude in 2010 

and aims to stimulate research 

and further the implantation 

of new crack-resistant concrete 

designs.
cation on critical structural elements, or with adaptable properties 

that could respond to environmental conditions (e.g., wind or water 

force) or increased temperatures associated with climate change. 

•	 Pavements with multifunctional properties, such as the ability to 

generate or transmit energy and increased durability.

•	 Vehicles that could obtain advanced information from an array of 

location-enhancing nanoscale sensors for collision avoidance and coordinated, self-correcting travel routing. 

•	 Improved energy-efficient interfaces between nanoscale sensors and 

local data collection and communication networks. 

The Future for Nanoscale Highway Research

“We expect the Nanoscale Workshop to lead to an overall increase in research targeted at highway program needs,” says David Kuehn, EAR Program Team Director at FHWA. 

“The workshop was an ideal opportunity to collaborate and 

leverage nanoscale technology 

that is being developed for other 

industries and to accelerate our 

ability to solve long-term highway research questions.”

Building on information 

shared at the workshop, the EAR 

Program sought research in four 

topics that have the potential to 

provide significant and immediate opportunities:

1. Theoretical understanding of nanoscale structural and mechanical 

modeling. 

2. Experimental understanding of pavements through development of 

nanoscale-measuring devices. 

3. Nanoscale sensors for assessing structural health. 

4. Nanoscale approaches for inhibiting corrosion. 
Although the short-term aim 

of the 2009 Nanoscale Workshop 

was to assist with identifying specific opportunities to invest EAR 

Program funds, the long-term aim 

is to build a focus on highway research needs within the nanoscale 

research community, particularly 

through outreach to experts and 

stakeholders. It is hoped that this 

focus will increase longstanding 

partnerships and ultimately use 

new research methods for solving 

highway research questions.

Following the success of the 

Nanoscale Workshop, the EAR 

Program continues to scan for 

relevant extramural nanoscale research in academia, the government, and on the international 

scale. Leveraging nanoscale technology that is being developed 

for other industries can accelerate solutions to long-term highway research questions. However, 

progress will require a long-term 

commitment to build interest and 

expertise among graduate students 

and early career researchers in 

emerging fields and to point them 

toward highway research issues. 

For nanoscale research to lead to 

technological breakthroughs, it is 

important for the EAR Program 

to build the bridge between scientific opportunities and highway 

program needs. Coordination 

What is the Exploratory 

Advanced Research 

Program?

FHWA’s Exploratory Advanced 

Research (EAR) Program focuses 

on long-term, high-risk research 

with a high payoff potential. The 

program addresses underlying gaps 

faced by applied highway research 

programs, anticipates emerging 

issues with national implications, 

and reflects broad transportation 

industry goals and objectives. 

To learn more about the EAR 

Program, visit the Exploratory 

Advanced Research Web site 

at www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch. The site features information on research solicitations, 

updates on ongoing research, 

links to published materials, 

summaries of past EAR Program 

events, and details on upcoming 

events. For additional information, contact David Kuehn at 

FHWA, 202-493-3414 (email: 

david.kuehn@fhwa.dot.gov), 

or Terry Halkyard at FHWA, 

202-493-3467 (email: terry.

halkyard@fhwa.dot.gov). 
and collaboration with other government, academic, and international 

laboratories with highway-relevant programs is ongoing, and as new 

developments emerge, the EAR Program continues to refine and focus 

its short- and long-term nanoscale opportunities.

On a final note, researchers need 

to be realistic about the difficulties 

of moving from a concept to application. It might take considerable effort to move from working 

at the nanoscale in the laboratory 

to delivering nanoscale materials 

at a commercial production scale 

that would function effectively 

and safely in harsh field conditions 

typical of highway infrastructure.

Learn More

For more information on FHWA’s strategic direction for nanoscale 

research and future funding opportunities, contact David Kuehn at 

FHWA, 202-493-3414 (email: david.kuehn@dot.gov).

EXPLORATORY ADVANCEDR E S E A R C H

Publication No. 

FHWA-HRT-10-033

HRTM-04/01-10(1M)E