Would Diamonds Make a Good Aggregate?

[kernals12]

Yes, I am aware diamonds are currently quite expensive. But unlike most of you, I know that aluminum also was once more valuable than gold and I know that progress on producing synthetic diamond is advancing rapidly with costs continuing to fall, so I think it's fair to ponder what would happen in a world where synthetic diamonds are not much more expensive than gravel?

Would diamond's high hardness make roads last longer, or is it really the bitumen that's the limiting factor? And would diamond be too hard, leading to crazy high levels of tire wear on traffic?

[Bitmapped]

The problem with asphalt's service life isn't caused by the aggregate. Synthetic diamonds would be a lot more resource intensive to produce than mining for gravel, and I imagine they would be much harder on equipment when rotomilling or diamond grinding. I fail to see an advantage to changing materials.

[zachary_amaryllis]

diamonds are SHARP too. wouldn't that chew up your tires?

[kernals12]

The problem with asphalt's service life isn't caused by the aggregate. Synthetic diamonds would be a lot more resource intensive to produce than mining for gravel, and I imagine they would be much harder on equipment when rotomilling or diamond grinding. I fail to see an advantage to changing materials.

Let's imagine the Bitumen is modified with carbon nanotubes to be extremely strong, that there are heating coils to avert freeze thaw cycles, and that it's got a pigment that can change to a lighter color above a certain temperature to prevent rutting. At that point, would the aggregate not be the limiting factor?

[kernals12]

diamonds are SHARP too. wouldn't that chew up your tires?

I did ask that in the OP. I imagine that if we could produce diamond for a few cents per pound, we could also make them into arbitrary shapes, like spheres.

Also, if it did chew up your tires but it enabled roads to last for centuries without even any resurfacing, then you could think of tire replacement costs as a sort of user fee.

[Road Hog]

You can make the tires out of diamond too. Ride might be a little bumpy, but ....

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Don't diamonds give you girlfriends?

[Rothman]

Don't diamonds give you girlfriends?

Well, despite who a woman says is her best friend, they evidently are really best friends with diamonds somehow, despite them being inanimate objects.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Don't diamonds give you girlfriends?

Well, despite who a woman says is her best friend, they evidently are really best friends with diamonds somehow, despite them being inanimate objects.

Maybe Kernals would like to drive on some women.

[kphoger]

Would girlfriends make a good aggregate?

[Max Rockatansky]

Would girlfriends make a good aggregate?

Just as expensive if not more more so than the typical varieties used in road construction.

[1995hoo]

Wouldn't roads made from diamonds last forever?

[SectorZ]

Would girlfriends make a good aggregate?

Soylent asphalt is people!

[Max Rockatansky]

Would girlfriends make a good aggregate?

Soylent asphalt is people!

Just the Green variant.

Begs the question though, was Joseph Stalin into using people as an aggregate?  The history of Kolyma Highway certainly seems to suggest that the Soviets weren't above using corpses (bones specifically) as the road base.

[GenExpwy]

Diamonds, being pure carbon, will burn. This could be a problem with vehicle fires, whether from a gasoline tanker or a Tesla battery.

[kalvado]

Diamonds, being pure carbon, will burn. This could be a problem with vehicle fires, whether from a gasoline tanker or a Tesla battery.

But the tar, being hydrocarbon, is already burnable

[Road Hog]

Diamonds burn at about 700-900º C. But if diamond was plentiful and cheap enough to pave a road with it, we'd also be using it as an incredibly efficient energy source, far more efficient than coal and cleaner.

[kernals12]

Diamonds burn at about 700-900º C. But if diamond was plentiful and cheap enough to pave a road with it, we'd also be using it as an incredibly efficient energy source, far more efficient than coal and cleaner.

The energy put into making diamonds is far greater than what can be extracted by burning them.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Diamonds burn at about 700-900º C. But if diamond was plentiful and cheap enough to pave a road with it, we'd also be using it as an incredibly efficient energy source, far more efficient than coal and cleaner.

The energy put into making diamonds is far greater than what can be extracted by burning them.

Sort of like the rest of us replying to you.

[hotdogPi]

Diamonds are better used to make swords and pickaxes.

[1995hoo]

Diamonds burn at about 700-900º C. But if diamond was plentiful and cheap enough to pave a road with it, we'd also be using it as an incredibly efficient energy source, far more efficient than coal and cleaner.

The energy put into making diamonds is far greater than what can be extracted by burning them.

Sort of like the rest of us replying to you.

Yes, I am aware diamonds are currently quite expensive. But unlike most of you, I know ....

Really, the boldfaced text amply illustrates the OP's modus operandi. He's explained the reason for his arrogance in another post to which I will not link right now lest the moderators frown upon my doing so.

[paulthemapguy]

A road's structural integrity comes from its ability to gradually spread concentrated loads outward as you get deeper down into the ground.  Basically that means that the piece size in your aggregate should increase as you get deeper.  Typically where I live, that means 1/4" stone in your asphalt, 3/4" stone in the base, 3" stone in the sub-base, and then your subgrade (the dirt layer you have to hit eventually).  Diamonds aren't typically very large so I don't see them playing a valuable role.  Where I live, most aggregate is crushed limestone, which is hard enough.

Also, any aggregate has to have the potential to interlock, or cease movement when it rubs against each other.  If the piece sizes were round, it would be like stepping on a mess of marbles; the marbles would roll outward and spread all over the floor.  You don't want the road you're driving on to run away from you!! This means you need your aggregate to be angular crushed stone, not just round rocks you pick up from the surface.  This is a more important characteristic than just brute Mohs hardness.

[Max Rockatansky]

Diamonds burn at about 700-900º C. But if diamond was plentiful and cheap enough to pave a road with it, we'd also be using it as an incredibly efficient energy source, far more efficient than coal and cleaner.

The energy put into making diamonds is far greater than what can be extracted by burning them.

Sort of like the rest of us replying to you.

Yes, I am aware diamonds are currently quite expensive. But unlike most of you, I know ....

Really, the boldfaced text amply illustrates the OP's modus operandi. He's explained the reason for his arrogance in another post to which I will not link right now lest the moderators frown upon my doing so.

Is there anyone actually left who takes kernals seriously?  Considering the totality of what we know and his many infamous comments on this forum there isn't much to write home about regarding his standing in the road community. 

[Daniel Fiddler]

There are two different grades of diamonds.  Gem-quality are expensive as hell obviously.  Although the ones that are not gem-quality are less expensive.  Possibly not cheap enough for aggregate, although they are currently used for dentist's drills and other items.

[kalvado]

There are two different grades of diamonds.  Gem-quality are expensive as hell obviously.  Although the ones that are not gem-quality are less expensive.  Possibly not cheap enough for aggregate, although they are currently used for dentist's drills and other items.

20 cents/gram - twice cheaper than gold! - and would be a substitute for sand, not gravel
once upon a time I had a fist-size piece of diamondish stuff in my hands. Transparent, beautiful, mostly carbon - but too much hydrogen, and more fragile than glass...