Advances in Sustainable Asphalt Pavements

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, growing environmental concerns have led to the increasing use of innovative pavement materials that meet the principles of sustainability and the circular economy.

In this regard, the current research trends for asphalt pavements include—among others—the use of renewable materials, the re-use of waste materials and industrial byproducts, and the optimization of asphalt recycling techniques (hot, warm, half-warm, and cold), which are all oriented toward the minimization of resources and energy consumption, wastes, and emissions.

However, despite the significant environmental benefits, there are still uncertainties regarding performance and durability during the whole life cycle of such innovative materials. Lower mechanical and functional properties could reduce the value of the pavement asset, which instead must be adequately maintained and preserved.

Within this context, the behavior of innovative materials needs to be investigated in the laboratory through reliable test methods and analyzed by considering solid theoretical backgrounds. At the same time, advanced pavement asset management tools, including smart solutions (e.g., sensoring systems, non-destructive testing, image processing, artificial intelligence), and up-to-date pavement management systems are necessary to maintain the infrastructural asset as well as to evaluate the field performance of pavement materials (especially innovative ones).

Therefore, this Special Issue aims at collecting original contributions concerning the performance characterization of innovative pavement materials on one hand and the development of new tools and techniques for pavement asset management and pavement management systems on the other hand.  

Research papers, reviews, and case studies related to the above mentioned topics are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Francesco Canestrari
Dr. Lorenzo Ingrassia
Guest Editors

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