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Sustainable Materials for Asphalt Pavements
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Sustainable Materials for Asphalt Pavements

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2025) | Viewed by 2482

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Zengping Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory for Special Area Highway Engineering of Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China
Interests: modification of asphalt; pavement materials; polyurethanes; epoxy resin; composite materials; high performance adhesives
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Runhua Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Interests: pavement material; pavement sustainability; artificial intelligence; pavement maintenance and rehabilitation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, sustainable asphalt pavement materials have been used to reduce environmental impacts and improve road durability. These materials include warm mix asphalt, rubber-modified asphalt, bio-based polymers, and recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) materials. They support the construction of green and low-carbon road infrastructure by reducing production energy consumption, enhancing pavement performance, and reducing resource consumption and waste emissions. At the same time, the sustainability of asphalt pavements also depends on breakthroughs in sustainable research on these materials. In order to build high-quality, environmentally friendly, and long-lasting road projects, researchers expect road materials to be low-cost, high-performance, and have the potential for sustainable development. This Special Issue will provide noteworthy experimental and/or numerical investigations or case studies on the sustainability of asphalt pavement materials, such as the following:

  • Applications of waste materials in asphalt pavements, such as waste polymers, waste building materials, etc.
  • Applications of bio-based materials in asphalt pavements.
  • Recycling of asphalt pavement materials.
  • Eco-friendly asphalt pavements and materials.
  • Low-energy asphalt pavement materials.
  • Long-life asphalt pavements.
  • Self-healing asphalt pavement materials.
  • Preparation and characterization of sustainable asphalt pavement materials.
  • Molecular dynamic studies of sustainable road materials.
  • Engineering applications of sustainable asphalt pavement materials.
  • Life cycle assessments of asphalt pavements.
  • Durability of asphalt pavement materials, etc.

Prof. Dr. Zengping Zhang
Dr. Runhua Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • asphalt
  • sustainability
  • waste materials
  • bio-based materials
  • engineering
  • recycling
  • life cycle assessment

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 3443 KiB  
Article
Determination of the Social Contribution of Sustainable Additives for Asphalt Mixes Through Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping
by Leonardo Sierra-Varela, Alejandra Calabi-Floody, Gonzalo Valdés-Vidal, Víctor Yepes and Álvaro Filun-Santana
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(7), 3994; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15073994 - 4 Apr 2025
Viewed by 599
Abstract
Assessing infrastructure sustainability requires an evaluation of technical, economic, environmental, and social dimensions, with the latter often being overlooked. Asphalt mixtures incorporating end-of-life tire textile fiber additives in Chile have emerged as a sustainable alternative to conventional fibers. However, the social sustainability of [...] Read more.
Assessing infrastructure sustainability requires an evaluation of technical, economic, environmental, and social dimensions, with the latter often being overlooked. Asphalt mixtures incorporating end-of-life tire textile fiber additives in Chile have emerged as a sustainable alternative to conventional fibers. However, the social sustainability of these additives remains underexplored. This study develops a model to assess the social sustainability of asphalt additives in Chile using fuzzy cognitive mapping. The methodology includes three stages: (1) qualitative exploration of the conceptual model by information triangulation, (2) construction of a fuzzy cognitive model to estimate social contributions, and (3) dynamic analysis of four additives, including those derived from end-of-life tire textile fiber. The results show that these recycled additives generate distinct social impacts, particularly in terms of consumer interest, innovation, knowledge transfer, and regulatory alignment. Additionally, technical contributions and certifications significantly influence sustainability assessments, exhibiting greater independence from other factors. The findings highlight the potential of repurposed textile fiber as a socially sustainable alternative in asphalt production. This approach supports circular economy initiatives, fosters innovation, and enhances the acceptance of sustainable infrastructure materials in Chile, contributing to a more resilient and responsible construction sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Asphalt Pavements)
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21 pages, 6978 KiB  
Article
Study of Interface Adhesion Between Polyurethane and Aggregate Based on Surface Free Energy Theory and Molecular Dynamics Simulation
by Zengping Zhang, Jiajun Ji, Xue Li, Zhongbao Shi and Junjie Wang
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(2), 606; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15020606 - 9 Jan 2025
Viewed by 673
Abstract
In order to eliminate the negative effects caused by traditional pavements, permeable pavements are gradually being used in road construction. In recent years, polyurethane (PU) has been used as a new binder in permeable pavement mixtures. However, compared to traditional pavement mixtures, the [...] Read more.
In order to eliminate the negative effects caused by traditional pavements, permeable pavements are gradually being used in road construction. In recent years, polyurethane (PU) has been used as a new binder in permeable pavement mixtures. However, compared to traditional pavement mixtures, the adhesion properties between PU and aggregate have not been systematically analyzed. In addition, no clear standards have been established for the performance testing of PU mixtures, posing significant challenges for the selection of materials and the optimization of formulations for PU mixtures. Therefore, this paper proposes new methods for evaluating the performance of PU mixtures from a microscopic point of view, aiming at evaluating the adhesion properties between PU and aggregates. In this study, a PU binder was synthesized. The adhesion properties of this PU binder with aggregate were evaluated by surface free energy measurement and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Finally, the effects of different environmental conditions and aggregate types on the PU–aggregate adhesion properties were investigated. The results showed that the adhesion between PU and basalt is consistently better than that with limestone, although the adhesion between PU and aggregate decreased under acidic conditions. It implies that the PU–basalt mixture has better water resistance than the PU–limestone mixture. Furthermore, the results of the surface free energy measurements and MD simulations for the evaluation of adhesion at the PU–aggregate interface showed good correlation with the macroscopic performance experiments, which can be extended to the study of the adhesion properties of other materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Asphalt Pavements)
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20 pages, 5930 KiB  
Article
Optimizing Thermosetting Epoxy Asphalt with Styrene–Butadiene Rubber and Styrene–Butadiene–Styrene Modifiers for Enhanced Durability in Bridge Expansion Joints
by Xiaodong Liu, Ben Du and Zhaohui Min
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(24), 11842; https://doi.org/10.3390/app142411842 - 18 Dec 2024
Viewed by 707
Abstract
The high- and low-temperature performance of asphalt-based seamless expansion joints seriously affects road performance. The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of thermosetting epoxy asphalt-based materials in bridge expansion joints. The composite modification of asphalt was performed using Styrene–Butadiene rubber [...] Read more.
The high- and low-temperature performance of asphalt-based seamless expansion joints seriously affects road performance. The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of thermosetting epoxy asphalt-based materials in bridge expansion joints. The composite modification of asphalt was performed using Styrene–Butadiene rubber (SBR) and Styrene–Butadiene–Styrene (SBS) copolymer. The study then investigates the impact of five different dosages of SBR/SBS-modified asphalt on the performance of epoxy asphalt. The results of the cone penetration test, tensile test, and stress relaxation test of SBR/SBS-modified epoxy asphalt (SSEA) and BJ200 (a commercial Seamless expansion joint material) were comparatively analyzed. The Marshall test, rutting test, three-point bending test, and freeze–thaw split test were used to evaluate the road performance of SSEA mixtures. The test results show that with the increase in asphalt content, the shear resistance and tensile strength of SSEA decrease, and the low-temperature relaxation ability and elongation at break increase. The content of SBR/SBS-modified asphalt has a positive effect on the low-temperature performance of SSEA mixtures, and the residual stability in water and freeze–thaw splitting strength ratio (TSR) are higher than that of BJ200. Based on the requirement of balancing high and low-temperature performance, SSEA-3 has the best overall performance, and the dosage of SBR and SBS modifier is 12% and 2.5%, respectively. The ratio of epoxy resin, SBR/SBS-modified asphalt, and the curing agent is 1:4:1.6, and its use is recommended in areas with slight temperature differences. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Asphalt Pavements)
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