Characterization of Innovative Asphalt Materials for Use in Pavement Design and Analysis

Dear Colleagues,

The development of sustainable and innovative materials for asphalt pavements has received increasing attention over the past 20 years. Research directions have included, among others, the application of nanomaterials for asphalt modification (nanosilica, nanoclay, etc.), the use of renewable materials in partial replacement of asphalt (bio-binders), the recycling of end-of-life pavement materials (hot, warm and cold), and the application of smart materials and systems for energy harvesting or pavement monitoring. Bringing these innovations from laboratory-scale studies to industrial or pavement-scale applications is now an open challenge that can only be tackled through a rigorous performance- and design-related characterization. Paving mixtures produced using innovative materials must be suitable for laydown on the road surface and must resist both traffic and environmental actions. To ensure this, we can use existing mix and structural design tools only if the behavior of the innovative materials is comparable to that of the conventional asphalt materials, for which the design approaches were originally conceived and validated. If, for example, the temperature dependency or the failure modes are different, then we must look at innovative concepts for design and analysis. The aim of this Special Issue is to collect contributions from research focused on the development of sustainable and innovative asphalt materials seeking paving application opportunities, on the one hand, and research focused on mixture and structural design seeking the right material to solve market-driven challenges, on the other hand. Original research papers, reviews, and case studies aiming at bridging the gap between the laboratory and the pavement scale are welcome.

Prof. Andrea Graziani
Guest Editor

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