Research hotspots and trend analysis of intelligent asphalt pavement technology based on CiteSpace

Based on the visualization analysis method of bibliometrics, 1268 core academic papers in the fields of self-sensing, self-energy harvesting, self-snow melting, self-cleaning, self-temperature regulation, and self-healing from January 2020 to June 2025 were summarized using literature on intelligent asphalt pavement technology collected from China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Web of Science databases as data sources. The changes in the number of publications on intelligent asphalt pavement technology at different times and in various countries and their underlying relationships were explored. The knowledge structure and research hotspots in this field were revealed. It provides hot clues and prospects for intelligent asphalt pavement technology research. The results indicate that the number of research publications on intelligent asphalt pavement technology is rising. The types of disciplines are showing a trend of diversified interdisciplinary development. According to the knowledge graph analysis, future research in intelligent asphalt pavement technology will tend to focus on six areas: multi-factor intelligent sensing data analysis, intelligent allocation and complementary self-consistency of road energy, development of hydrophobic coatings for pavements, synthesis of long-lasting smoke suppression and air purification materials for the entire lifecycle, novel phase change materials and their performance regulation, and exploration of prediction models and mechanisms for self-healing effects.