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Sustainable Development of Pavement Materials, Design, and Road Construction Technologies

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 11453

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ghazi G. Al-Khateeb

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Guest Editor

Chairman, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Interests: sustainable pavement materials; pavement design and analysis; aging of asphalt pavements; modeling of asphalt materials; SUPERPAVE; modified Asphalt; warm-mix asphalt; pavement mechanics and evaluation; dynamic testing and characterization of asphalt materials

Prof. Dr. Khalid A. Ghuzlan

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Guest Editor

Civil Engineering Department, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
Interests: pavement materials; pavement design; pavement performance

Prof. Dr. Sherif M. El-Badawy

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Guest Editor

Public Works Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
Interests: pavement materials; mechanistic-empirical pavement design; pavement performance; sustainable pavement materials; modified binders; concrete pavements; pavement recycling; pavement evaluation; advanced characterization of pavement materials

Special Issue Information

Pavements comprise the major component of the highway infrastructure network. Pavement materials including asphalt binder, aggregate, filler materials, and modifiers are tested and characterized in the lab to investigate the physical and mechanical properties that best suit the design and construction of pavement structures. Pavement materials are characterized and designed to produce the most suitable mix with optimum properties that can be used in the construction of asphalt pavements. Traffic loading and climatic conditions are considered while designing the mix and the pavement structure in order to construct a pavement that is capable of carrying the anticipated traffic loads under prevailing climatic conditions during the design life period. For this reason, the proper selection of pavement materials and the proper design of the mix and the pavement structure are considered key steps in processes from production and construction to maintenance, which can contribute to improved performance and lower life-cycle costs.

The most up-to-date structural pavement design method is the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG). The MEPDG identifies the causes of stresses in pavement structures and computes the critical stresses, strains, and deformations, which are then transformed into pavement distresses with the help of calibrated transfer functions. The MEPDG software (AASHTOWare) estimates how initial design trials, using specific material properties as inputs, respond to the traffic loads and environmental stresses produced by the inputs of traffic and climate. Based on that, the level of damage the pavement is able to sustain over time can be estimated.

Pavement technologists currently face many challenges, including producing sustainable materials, developing advanced characterization tests, developing novel design methods, and introducing new technologies to construct superior performance highway pavements that are capable of carrying growing traffic loads, preserving surrounding ecosystems, and meeting the needs of the road users and the limited budgets of the agencies. With the escalating increase in oil prices worldwide, the increasing demand for petroleum-derived products, including asphalt materials, and the climate change issue and the environmental burden of the pavement industry, the need for sustainable and environmentally friendly materials and new methods and technologies has become crucial.

Dear Colleagues,

The scope of the Special Issue is to explore new sustainable pavement materials, novel design methods, and advanced road construction technologies toward producing cost-effective and sustainable pavements with superior performance to carry heavy traffic loads and to restore the environment.

The Special Issue will provide the most up-to-date research on new pavement materials, design methods, and technologies for road construction. It is highly expected that published papers in this Special Issue will benefit the pavement technologists, professionals, academics, researchers, and graduate students and will provide them with the latest research findings related to the scope and topics of the Special Issue. It is also expected that the findings and outcomes that will be presented in this Special Issue will enrich current research efforts and will significantly add to the previous efforts in the same area.

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit papers to the Special Issue. Submitted papers will be peer-reviewed by a minimum of two to three experts in the field.

We encourage research papers that cover one or more of the eleven major topics listed below for submission to this Special Issue. Additionally, we welcome state-of-the-art reviews and overview articles that discuss findings of research studies related to these topics:

Introducing new sustainable pavement materials;
Developing new design methods for pavements;
Presenting advanced technologies for road construction;
Introducing non-petroleum sources for materials for pavement construction;
Assessing life cycle costs of proposed pavement materials;
Discussing the environmental effects of the newly introduced materials;
Utilizing recycled, co-products, or waste materials that can benefit pavement performance;
Discussing the sustainability issue of new materials;
Presenting new approaches for the characterization of pavement materials;
Introducing improved test methods in pavement technology;
Presenting sustainable pavement maintenance and rehabilitation techniques.

Prof. Dr. Ghazi G. Al-Khateeb
Prof. Dr. Khalid A. Ghuzlan
Prof. Dr. Sherif M. El-Badawy
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. Sustainability 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

pavement
pavement materials
sustainability
sustainable materials
design methods
technologies
road construction
pavement performance
pavement design
pavement recycling

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 7461 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of the Effect of Different Loading Combinations Due to Truck Platooning and Autonomous Vehicles on the Performance of Asphalt Pavement

by Ghina H. Merhebi, Rouba Joumblat and Adel Elkordi

Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 10805; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151410805 - 10 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 934

Abstract

Autonomous vehicles and truck platooning have become the future in the transportation field. This new strategy has many benefits because it lowers fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions, improves safety, optimizes transport by using roads more effectively, and reduces traffic congestion. In this research, the effect of the controlled positioning of autonomous and non-autonomous truck loadings on the long-term performance of pavement was estimated using different variables such as climate, uniform wandering values of distance between trucks, and percentage of autonomous trucks by using MEPDG/AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design software. This was achieved by first computing the strain and stress of the different loading combinations, resulting in the computation of the failures in the pavement infrastructure and the pavement thickness needed to support each combination. The second part of the research consisted of designing a platoon strategy that was developed for a series of autonomous and connected trucks such that the lateral position of the trucks and the spacing between them could be explicitly optimized to minimize flexible pavement damage. The findings revealed that a small percentage of autonomous trucks can be beneficial to pavement life and that truck platooning following a well-studied skeleton can open a whole new world of pavement design. This can be revolutionary in changing roads around the world to improve traffic and infrastructure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Pavement Materials, Design, and Road Construction Technologies)

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14 pages, 3959 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating the Effect of Curing Time and Resting Time on Moisture Damage Resistance of Asphalt Mixtures Using the Pull-Off Tensile Strength (POTS) Test

by Adulwit Nimsanor and Preeda Chaturabong

Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6760; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086760 - 17 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1087

Abstract

This article explores the effectiveness of the Pull-off Tensile Strength (POTS) test as a tool for evaluating the moisture damage resistance of asphalt mixtures. Currently, indirect tensile strength (ITS) and the Hamburg Wheel Tracking (HWT) test are used, but they have limitations such as expensive equipment and being heavy. The POTS test is a low-cost and portable alternative. This study investigated the effect of curing time and resting time on the POTS of asphalt-aggregate systems by subjecting samples to different curing times and resting times before testing their tensile strength under dry and wet conditions. The results show that the tensile strength decreases with increasing curing time or exposure to water, indicating that the debonding process between asphalt and aggregates occurs more rapidly with aging. The tensile strength ratio (TSR) of the POTS test for all three asphalt binder types increases with resting time and curing time, with the highest values observed at a curing time of 2 h and a resting time of 5–15 min. Additionally, this study found a strong linear relationship between the tensile strength ratios of ITS and POTS tests, regardless of curing time and resting time. Overall, the POTS test is a promising alternative for evaluating moisture damage resistance in asphalt mixtures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Pavement Materials, Design, and Road Construction Technologies)

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23 pages, 5250 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identification of Key Design Phase-Related Risks in DBB Projects in the UAE—Towards Developing a BIM Solution

by Deena Badran, Radhi AlZubaidi and Senthilkumar Venkatachalam

Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6651; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086651 - 14 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1223

Abstract

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has become a widely used concept in high-rise buildings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, the risks associated with the design phase of multi-story high-rise building projects have, to date, not been addressed by the research studies conducted in the UAE. The results show that “Time Spent in Approval Process” is the main cause of delay, “Complying with the New Regulations and Rules” is the main cause of cost overrun and “Poor Coordination between the Design Disciplines” is the main cause of the quality deficiency. The results also indicate that “Poor Coordination between the Design Disciplines’’ is the only risk that has a high-risk index related to time, cost, and quality. “Change Initiated by the Client” and “Interface by the Client during the Design Process” are ranked among the top five risks which cause delay and cost overrun in UAE high-rise buildings. The paper mapped the root causes of the identified most significant risks against the possible BIM-based solutions. The results show that BIM can effectively mitigate 75% of the root causes of these risks and, further, BIM is also effective in managing the consequences of the root causes for the remaining the remaining 25%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Pavement Materials, Design, and Road Construction Technologies)

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14 pages, 686 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Framework Supporting Health and Safety Practices in the United Arab Emirates’ Construction Projects

by Abdelrahman Abdalla Alhelo, Radhi Alzubaidi and Hamad Rashid

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1587; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021587 - 13 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3668

Abstract

The construction business in the UAE has seen a significant increase in the type, amount, and complexity of structures, with safety and health being one of the most important tasks in order for projects to continue. A lack of sufficient health and safety rules in the construction industry is one of the key difficulties, based on which the aim of the current research is to develop an integrated framework for optimising H&S in the UAE’s construction industry. To meet this aim of the study, the present study conducted an exhaustive investigation of all current health and safety standards in the UAE construction industry across all Emirates. A total of 63 interviews were performed with construction and consulting organisations in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah to investigate the existing status and efficacy of safety and health standards in the UAE construction industry and to identify areas for improvement. Despite the fact that H&S laws and regulations are enforced across the UAE, the findings demonstrated that they are neither standardised nor universal. In addition, the findings revealed that there is no one entity accountable for implementing the safety and health standards. In accordance with this, a precise and innovative structure for the formation of a federal body to serve as the industry’s single H&S regulator is suggested. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Pavement Materials, Design, and Road Construction Technologies)

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Review

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34 pages, 538 KiB

Open AccessReview

State-of-the-Art Review on Permanent Deformation Characterization of Asphalt Concrete Pavements

by Rouba Joumblat, Zaher Al Basiouni Al Masri, Ghazi Al Khateeb, Adel Elkordi, Abdel Rahman El Tallis and Joseph Absi

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1166; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021166 - 8 Jan 2023

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2976

Abstract

Rutting is one of the significant distresses in flexible pavements. Examining the methods to decrease permanent deformation is of considerable importance to provide long service life and safe highways. The main objective of this paper is to undertake a state-of-the-art review to combine the existing work on the permanent deformation of asphalt concrete pavements. For this purpose, the review synthesizes the evolution of the permanent deformation models, the tests methods used to evaluate and quantify the rutting potential of asphalt mixtures with a particular focus provided on the stress sweep rutting test which is gaining popularity as it tackles the shortcomings of its predecessor for the exact characterization and prediction of permanent deformation. Additionally, some advanced computational intelligence methodologies such as finite element model and soft computing are reviewed. Furthermore, the most common permanent deformation solutions are reviewed. It was found that efforts are put towards improving either the rheological properties of base asphalt by using modifiers or asphalt mixture by using selected aggregates to enhance the aggregate interlock and by implementing semi-flexible asphalt pavements which is expected to be a promising method against permanent deformation. This state-of-the-art work is expected to supply a comprehensive perception of the available models, rutting test, and solutions, and to suggest future studying areas related to the rutting of asphalt pavements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Pavement Materials, Design, and Road Construction Technologies)

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