Sustainable Asphalt and Bituminous Composite Materials: Design, Performance, and Recycling Technologies
A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction and Building Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2027 | Viewed by 170
Editors
Interests: cold recycled material mixtures; pavement engineering; cold recycling; reclaimed asphalt pavement; foamed bitumen; bitumen emulsion; road binder; bitumen and bituminous composites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: pavement engineering; FEM modeling; bitumen and bituminous composite rheology; data mining; design of experiment theory; recycled aggregate; recycling and utilization of polymer plastics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Sustainable pavement engineering increasingly focuses on improving the performance and environmental impact of bituminous composites under complex loading and climatic conditions. Traditional approaches based on empirical and mechanistic methods are progressively complemented by advanced rheological characterization and thermo-mechanical modeling. Recent developments highlight the growing role of data-driven and machine learning techniques in predicting material behavior and optimizing mixture design. These approaches enable a more comprehensive understanding of asphalt performance, particularly in the context of recycled materials and polymer-modified binders.
Furthermore, increasing attention is devoted to the circular economy paradigm, where reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and industrial by-products are effectively incorporated into new mixtures without compromising durability. The interaction between aged and virgin binders, rejuvenator efficiency, and long-term aging resistance remains a key research challenge. Advanced laboratory testing methods, including dynamic shear rheometry, fatigue and fracture characterization, as well as multi-scale modeling, provide deeper insights into microstructural evolution and damage mechanisms.
In addition, climate resilience and sustainability assessment tools, such as life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost analysis (LCCA), are becoming integral to pavement design. These methodologies support the development of innovative, high-performance, and environmentally responsible asphalt materials tailored to modern infrastructure demands.
Prof. Dr. Przemysław Buczyński
Prof. Dr. Grzegorz Mazurek
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- pavement engineering
- bituminous composites
- rheology of bitumen
- machine learning in pavement engineering
- data-driven modeling
- cold recycling technology
- recycled aggregate
- life cycle assessment (LCA)
- life cycle cost analysis (LCCA)
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