Selected Papers from the 5th International Conference on Transportation Infrastructures Conference

A special issue of Infrastructures (ISSN 2412-3811).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (13 August 2023) | Viewed by 21017

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Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing, Florida International University, 10555 West Flagler Street, EC 3660, Miami, FL 33174, USA
Interests: civil infrastructure design, maintenance, and rehabilitation with a focus on pavements and bridges; development of innovative concepts, models, methods, and tools that integrate sustainability principles with civil engineering practices; statistical analysis, multi-decision criteria, simulation processes, optimization techniques, and risk management methods for sustainable and resilient infrastructure
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is comprised of selected papers from the 5th International Conference on Transportation Infrastructures Conference (ICTI 2022). The event will be held from 10-13 August 2022 in Lima-Peru.

Knowing our Transport Infrastructure Assets: Investing with Wisdom The primary focus of 5-ICTI will be on how to apply the knowledge acquired through experience and research to make wiser decisions to maximize social, economical, and environmental benefits. All topics related to sustainable planning, design, construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation of transportation infrastructure including airports, pavements, bridges, highways ports, and railroads are welcome.

The conference calls for papers on best practices, research findings, and case studies for technical topics related to:

  • Advanced engineering methods to support sustainable infrastructure;
  • Big data and machine learning techniques applied to infrastructure;
  • Climate change and net-zero energy balanced solutions;
  • Digital twin model systems for infrastructure applications;
  • Electrical cars and automated vehicles;
  • Emerging technologies to collect and process data, analyze, and manage infrastructure;
  • Decision-making methods to prioritize investments;
  • Innovative performance modeling techniques;
  • Life cycle cost analysis under uncertainty;
  • Maintenance and rehabilitation effective strategies;
  • Pavement and bridge management systems;
  • Recycle materials and new environmentally friendly products;
  • Risk assessment, resiliency, and mitigation strategies;
  • Safety policies and applications;
  • Smart cities.

BEST PAPER AWARD

Call for papers. Deadline: December 31, 2022

Send the paper by: https://icg.construction/en/call-for-papers-3/

Dr. Carlos M. Chang
Guest Editor

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. Infrastructures is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1800 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

  • resilient infrastructure
  • climate change strategies
  • emerging transportation technologies
  • decision-making methods
  • innovative performance modeling techniques
  • maintenance and rehabilitation effective strategies

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 3730 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Transportation Infrastructures in Iowa—Goals and Practices
by Hosin Lee, Byungkyu Moon and Jeongbeom Lee
Infrastructures 2024, 9(2), 27; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures9020027 - 1 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1731
Abstract
The need to incorporate sustainability principles and practices is increasing for environmental and economic reasons. It is imperative to identify and operationalize sustainability strategies into core administrative, planning, design, construction, operational, and maintenance activities for the transportation infrastructure systems by integrating sustainability into [...] Read more.
The need to incorporate sustainability principles and practices is increasing for environmental and economic reasons. It is imperative to identify and operationalize sustainability strategies into core administrative, planning, design, construction, operational, and maintenance activities for the transportation infrastructure systems by integrating sustainability into decision-making processes. The primary goal of this study is to develop an implementation plan for achieving more sustainable transportation infrastructure systems in Iowa. This research aims to guide the adoption of sustainable strategies, balancing cost, performance, and environmental impact in transportation infrastructure development. This paper presents efforts to develop a methodology for identifying the best sustainable practices for implementation in transportation infrastructure practices in Iowa by surveying state DOTs to learn about their sustainability goals and practices, identifying existing sustainability attributes and sustainable practices, and developing a GIS database where construction, materials and performance data of sustainable practices can be stored and analyzed. Full article
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14 pages, 8786 KiB  
Article
Lessons Learned from the Construction and Initial Performance of a Double Chip Seal over a Paving Mat Pilot Project
by DingXin Cheng and Lerose Lane
Infrastructures 2023, 8(9), 134; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures8090134 - 11 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1377
Abstract
Single chip seals are used by many agencies to maintain or preserve their roadways. While the construction and performance of single chip seals can be easily found from literature, the construction of double chip seals with and without paving fabric or paving mats [...] Read more.
Single chip seals are used by many agencies to maintain or preserve their roadways. While the construction and performance of single chip seals can be easily found from literature, the construction of double chip seals with and without paving fabric or paving mats is still not common. This paper investigates four double chip seal strategies used in a pilot project constructed on US 395 in Inyo County, California, by Caltrans. Within the double chip seal project limits, eight Performance Evaluation Sections (PESs) using four treatment strategies were established for detailed performance monitoring and evaluation: 1—a 3/8-inch asphalt rubber chip seal followed by a 1/4-inch PME chip seal without pavement-reinforcing fabric (PRF) or a paving mat as a control section; 2—a 3/8-inch PME chip seal over PRF, followed by a 1/4-inch PME chip seal; 3—a 3/8-inch PME chip seal over a paving mat, followed by a 1/4-inch PME chip seal; and 4—an asphalt rubber 3/8-inch chip seal over a paving mat, followed by a 1/4-inch PME chip seal. This pilot project was monitored during construction and evaluated 1 year later to help identify any construction issues and was used to improve the specifications and performance of Caltrans’ chip seals. This paper presents the initial findings following construction, and the one-year performance of the pilot project and lessons learned. The findings presented were accomplished by using these four treatment strategies on a highway with a very adverse high desert climate type and high traffic volumes. Project reviews are also planned for up to seven years to determine the long-term project performance. Full article
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35 pages, 2587 KiB  
Article
An Infrastructure Management Humanistic Approach for Smart Cities Development, Evolution, and Sustainability
by Carlos M. Chang, Gianine Tejada Salinas, Teresa Salinas Gamero, Stella Schroeder, Mario A. Vélez Canchanya and Syeda Lamiya Mahnaz
Infrastructures 2023, 8(9), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures8090127 - 24 Aug 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3429
Abstract
Over the next decades, people will continue moving to urban areas all over the world, increasing infrastructure needs to satisfy economic, environmental, and social demands. The connection between civil urban infrastructure and smart cities is strong due to the common goal of fulfilling [...] Read more.
Over the next decades, people will continue moving to urban areas all over the world, increasing infrastructure needs to satisfy economic, environmental, and social demands. The connection between civil urban infrastructure and smart cities is strong due to the common goal of fulfilling public service demands. Infrastructure management contributes to the development, evolution, and sustainability of smart cities. The main problem with traditional approaches to the development, evolution, and sustainability of smart cities is the lack of a holistic, integrated vision of infrastructure management. The main objective of this research is to introduce an infrastructure management humanistic approach with a smart city conceptual model that also considers an educational perspective. A mixed research methodology that combines quantitative and qualitative approaches was used, applying inductive-deductive tools. The paper concludes with the development of an infrastructure management framework for smart cities with five dimensions: (1) Environmental, (2) financial-economic, (3) political-governance, (4) social-people, and (5) technological. Two case studies for the cities of Lima and Piura in Perú illustrate how to incorporate this framework into practice. The research products are relevant because they foster an inclusive better quality of life for all citizens by preserving civil infrastructure systems. Full article
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9 pages, 3507 KiB  
Communication
Wander Effect on Pavement Performance for Application in Connected and Autonomous Vehicles
by Jorge Pais, Paulo Pereira and Liseane Thives
Infrastructures 2023, 8(8), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures8080119 - 31 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1524
Abstract
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) will change how road engineers design road pavements because they can position themselves within a traffic lane, keeping their position in the lane more precisely than human-driven vehicles. These vehicles will have lower lateral wandering, which can induce [...] Read more.
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) will change how road engineers design road pavements because they can position themselves within a traffic lane, keeping their position in the lane more precisely than human-driven vehicles. These vehicles will have lower lateral wandering, which can induce more damage to pavements, such as cracking and permanent deformation, than the conventional vehicles, with consequences for the infrastructures due to the increased cracking and reduced safety due to the rutting. Thus, it is essential to assess the wander effect on pavement performance to define policies for its implementation on CAV. This paper studies the impact of the lateral wander of the traffic on pavement performance, considering its fatigue and permanent deformation resistance. This impact can be used to define limits for the wander to minimize distresses on the pavement. The results of this study allow us to conclude that for a pavement with a 10 cm asphalt layer, the wander effect is more significant for fatigue life. A pavement life increase of 20% was observed for a wander of 0.2 m, while for 0.6 m, the fatigue life can increase up to 48%. For the permanent deformation, a pavement life increase of 2% for a wander of 0.2 m was observed, but for 0.6 m, the pavement life can be increased up to 34%. Full article
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12 pages, 2100 KiB  
Article
Asset Valuation Model for Highway Rigid Pavements Applicable in Public–Private Partnerships Projects
by Luis Arce, Rodrigo Delgadillo, Alelí Osorio-Lird, Felipe Araya and Carlos Wahr
Infrastructures 2023, 8(8), 118; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures8080118 - 30 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1587
Abstract
Recently, in Chile, infrastructure asset value has been incorporated into highway concession contracts. However, the current valuation model used for rigid pavements is not adapted to the standards and conditions of such projects. This study develops a valuation model for rigid pavements of [...] Read more.
Recently, in Chile, infrastructure asset value has been incorporated into highway concession contracts. However, the current valuation model used for rigid pavements is not adapted to the standards and conditions of such projects. This study develops a valuation model for rigid pavements of interurban highway concessions and evaluates it in a case study. The proposed model captures the loss in asset value associated with the performance degradation over time, considering a typical Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JCPC) configuration. The value is calculated using performance indicators that represent the structural capacity and level of service provided to road users. The model represents a significant improvement compared to current asset valuation models used in highway concessions. It enables the public agency to objectively evaluate the preservation of asset value carried out by the private partner during the concession. Additionally, it could also be used as a tool to establish payments between infrastructure stakeholders. Some of the concepts applied could also be relevant for other highway assets existing in Public–Private Partnership (PPP) projects. Full article
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11 pages, 2379 KiB  
Article
Deflection-Based Approach for Flexible Pavement Design in Thailand
by Auckpath Sawangsuriya, Tunwin Svasdisant and Poranic Jitareekul
Infrastructures 2023, 8(7), 116; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures8070116 - 21 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2270
Abstract
The Department of Highways (DOH), Thailand, has adopted both empirical and mechanistic approaches for flexible pavement analysis and design. Recently, the deflection-based design approach has been comprehensively reviewed by the DOH for the possible adoption of national design standards and practices. One of [...] Read more.
The Department of Highways (DOH), Thailand, has adopted both empirical and mechanistic approaches for flexible pavement analysis and design. Recently, the deflection-based design approach has been comprehensively reviewed by the DOH for the possible adoption of national design standards and practices. One of the key reasons is that Thailand’s road authorities, i.e., the DOH and the Department of Rural Roads (DRR), have considered the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) for the new construction and rehabilitation of road pavements. In addition, the FWD is widely accepted as the non-destructive test for deflection measurement and structural capacity evaluation. Ultimately, the implication of FWD deflections for in-house pavement analysis and design shall be developed and proposed to Thailand’s road authorities. Therefore, this study presents the deflection-based approach of flexible pavement design in Thailand. The FWD and a standard Thai truck were selected as the main loading applications in this study. A typical FWD loading stress of 700–800 kPa was practically adopted by the DOH and compared with a standard 10-wheel 25-ton truck with a tandem axle-dual wheel configuration with a tire pressure of 690 kPa. The layered elastic analysis was performed to calculate the pavement responses. The results suggest that the flexible pavement design based on a deflection-based approach is simple, practical, and conservative. Full article
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19 pages, 14276 KiB  
Article
Comparing the Performance of Historical and Regular Stone Pavement Structures in Urban Trafficked Areas through the Finite Element Method (FEM)
by Nicholas Fiorentini, Jiandong Huang, Giacomo Cuciniello, Pietro Leandri and Massimo Losa
Infrastructures 2023, 8(7), 115; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures8070115 - 20 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1988
Abstract
Stone pavement structures (SPS), also known as stone roads or stone-paved roads, are road pavements constructed using stones as the primary surface material. Different types of SPS exist; historically, irregular-shaped stones with downward protrusions have been often exploited since regular-shaped stones were difficult [...] Read more.
Stone pavement structures (SPS), also known as stone roads or stone-paved roads, are road pavements constructed using stones as the primary surface material. Different types of SPS exist; historically, irregular-shaped stones with downward protrusions have been often exploited since regular-shaped stones were difficult to be produced. More recently, regular cuboid stones can be also used. Accordingly, in new construction and renovations of SPS, pavement designers must take an essential decision concerning the adoption of historical or regular stones. Nonetheless, it is often confusing which of the two types of stones should be employed, considering that historical and regular SPS follow the same theory and pavement design methods. Therefore, a comparison between the performance of these two types of SPS is required to support their design and maintenance. Moreover, SPS are limitedly investigated and, to the best of our knowledge, there are no research contributions that address this specific task. Accordingly, in the present study, after conducting a laboratory characterization and in situ structural survey by Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) on a SPS, a comparative analysis based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) was carried out for investigating the structural performance of the historical (H-SPS) and regular SPS (R-SPS) in urban trafficked areas, where SPS must withstand heavy traffic loads. Specifically, considering both typologies of SPS, the paper aims to model and investigate: (a) the mechanical behavior under loading (displacements, stress, and strain distribution), (b) failure criteria (stone warpage and separation between the stones and the mortar joint), (c) the joint efficiency between stones, and (d) to which extent the road subgrade stiffness may influence the performance of SPS. In addition to the pavement design perspective, the research also provides a short glance at the strengths and weaknesses of R-SPS and H-SPS from other sides, such as functionality, ease of maintenance, construction techniques, and cultural and historical values. Full article
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19 pages, 2827 KiB  
Article
Properties of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) with Several Contents of Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA)
by Julio Cantero-Durango, Rodrigo Polo-Mendoza, Gilberto Martinez-Arguelles and Luis Fuentes
Infrastructures 2023, 8(7), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures8070109 - 29 Jun 2023
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2249
Abstract
Continuous research efforts have been developed in the literature to raise the sustainability components of the road infrastructure industry, i.e., reduce potential contaminants and augment financial profitability. In this regard, this investigation aims to explore the feasibility of producing Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) [...] Read more.
Continuous research efforts have been developed in the literature to raise the sustainability components of the road infrastructure industry, i.e., reduce potential contaminants and augment financial profitability. In this regard, this investigation aims to explore the feasibility of producing Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) with the inclusion of Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA) as a partial substitute for coarse Natural Aggregates (NAs). Thus, four different HMAs were considered, namely HMAs with coarse RCA contents of 0, 15, 30, and 45%. Specifically, the mechanical and sustainability properties of the asphalt mixtures were determined. On the one hand, the Marshall design parameters, resilient modulus, moisture susceptibility, rutting resistance, and fatigue life were addressed as mechanical properties. Meanwhile, regarding the sustainability properties, the environmental impacts and production costs were estimated using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) methodologies, respectively. Consequently, the following conclusions were obtained: (i) as the coarse RCA content increases, the mechanical behavior of the HMA progressively deteriorates; (ii) this decrease in mechanical performance is acceptable up to a 15% RCA of coarse RCA, whereas for higher dosages this alteration is abrupt; and (iii) the RCA only generates sustainability benefits at a 15% replacement amount. Full article
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Review

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16 pages, 1744 KiB  
Review
Utilizing Industrial By-Products for Sustainable Three-Dimensional-Printed Infrastructure Applications: A Comprehensive Review
by Eka Oktavia Kurniati and Hee-Jeong Kim
Infrastructures 2023, 8(10), 140; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures8100140 - 4 Oct 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2400
Abstract
Industrial secondary products (e.g., fly ash, blast furnace slag, and silica fume) have found extensive application as alternative construction materials in conventional manufacturing methods to reduce carbon emissions due to cement usage and solve the waste management problem. To date, additive manufacturing or [...] Read more.
Industrial secondary products (e.g., fly ash, blast furnace slag, and silica fume) have found extensive application as alternative construction materials in conventional manufacturing methods to reduce carbon emissions due to cement usage and solve the waste management problem. To date, additive manufacturing or 3D printing has been massively developed for every material, including cement-based materials. Some possibilities have arisen to incorporate industrial wastes in cement mixtures in 3D printing applications. However, a comprehensive study about fly ash (FA), ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS), and silica fume (SF) usage in 3D-printed materials needs to be conducted. This paper shows that some aspects of 3D printing, such as printability, buildability, and rheological properties, need to be considered, and waste materials affect these fresh mixture properties. Applying waste materials as supplementary cementitious materials also gives different mechanical properties and durability performances. Furthermore, the environmental and economic benefits of 3D-printed and conventional materials are compared. The results show that 3D printing methods can enhance the environmental and economic benefits while maintaining the performance of materials created using traditional methods. Studying industrial waste application in 3D printing has become a promising way to develop sustainable materials in this digitalization era. Full article
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