Abimbola Grace Oyeyi, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering who was recognized at the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Conference (CSCE), pictured at the E.D. Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation in Windsor, Ont. on Friday, June 6, 2025. (LINDSAY CHARLTON/The University of Windsor)
By Lindsay Charlton
A UWindsor professor’s work on an insulated pavement design, aimed at reducing potholes and road deterioration generally by tackling the effects of freeze-thaw cycles, has earned national recognition.
Abimbola Grace Oyeyi, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, along with her research team, was recognized at the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Conference (CSCE) with the Stephen G. Revay Award for their paper exploring the use of lightweight cellular concrete (LCC) in pavement design.
“It was amazing to see all the hard work recognized because there was a lot of work going into the field and doing the design, and all the instrumentation yourself. It was surprising, honestly. I remember when I saw the email, I thought it was a scam,” Dr. Oyeyi said with a laugh.
Oyeyi conducted the work while completing her PhD in civil engineering at the University of Waterloo. The new roadway design addresses poor drainage and extreme temperature changes, two common factors in the formation of potholes and road deformation, by replacing the lower pavement level with the LCC.
“We added a layer that insulates the soil from freezing and thawing, which can lessen the impact of temperature changes on the soil. That, in turn, can help reduce surface damage like cracking and potholes,” Oyeyi said.
“We tried using a new material, the LCC, which is a lighter form of concrete that has air pockets, or bubbles in it. This allows for the freezing and thawing of water without actually impacting the structure itself.”
Due to the air bubbles, the pavement has good insulation properties, which can reduce the impact of fluctuating temperatures from getting into the subgrade, which is the existing soil the roadway is placed on.
With the help of contractors, the team constructed about seven different pavement sections in the City of Waterloo, equipped with sensors to measure responses that would help researchers determine the life of the pavement.
They looked for stresses and strains at different levels of the pavement, measuring the impact of traffic loading and changing climate with the help of moisture and temperature sensors in the roadway’s layers.
“Typically, we know traffic driving on the roadway will cause some strain, but we wanted to isolate the environmental factors and see what the impact would be on the pavement itself, taking traffic away from the whole scenario, so that’s what this paper was looking at,” Oyeyi said.
She said through this design, they’re able to extend the life of the pavement, with less cracking, there will be less maintenance overtime.
“I did do some preliminary studies where I tried to simulate the environmental impacts, and we did find that it would be extremely beneficial,” Oyeyi said. “Initial cost is higher because it is a new material, but I feel over time, with economies of scale, it could also become more affordable because it does have a longer life cycle.”
“Our analysis so far shows that it’s environmentally beneficial. We’ve done some testing to evaluate how it’s performing, and so far, it’s showing very good results.”
While Oyeyi has since earned her PhD, she is continuing this work by looking into how she could increase environmental and economic sustainability through more innovative materials to supplement the concrete as much as possible.