Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.7
3.3
Journals
Sustainability
Special Issues
Sustainable Pavement Design and Road Materials
sustainability-logo
Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Sustainable Pavement Design and Road Materials

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Building".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 2334

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Meng Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Key Laboratory of Urban Security and Disaster Engineering of Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
Interests: asphalt; bitumen; pavement; interface interaction; rheology; viscoelasticity; cohesion and adhesion; aging; recycle; infrastructure sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Meichen Liang

E-Mail
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot 010051, China
Interests: aging mechanism of asphalt binder; sustainable pavement materials; anti-aging materials for asphalt binder; recyclable pavement materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As increasing importance is given to environmental protection and the sustainable utilization of resources, change in the field of transportation infrastructure is becoming increasingly urgent. Specifically, the environmental impacts and resource consumption that occur during the construction and maintenance of asphalt pavements are becoming more and more serious. A significant amount of research has been conducted in the search for more durable, economical, and environmentally friendly roads through the use of innovative pavement materials and designs. Achieving these is of undeniable importance for the realization of global sustainable development goals. Thus, this Special Issue will provide a collection of noteworthy investigations and case studies related to sustainable pavement design and road materials.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Recyclable pavement materials and technologies;
  • High-performance asphalt materials and additives;
  • Warm mix asphalt (WMA) technologies;
  • Advanced characterization and simulation methods;
  • Long-life pavement structure design theory and methods;
  • Life cycle assessment;
  • Sustainable and eco-friendly asphalt pavement practices;
  • Smart and connected infrastructure for intelligent asphalt pavements.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Meng Guo
Dr. Meichen Liang
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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

  • asphalt pavements
  • sustainability
  • recyclable materials
  • long-life asphalt pavement
  • life-cycle assessment

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

28 pages, 8758 KB  
Article
Thermo-Mechanical Response of Geocell-Reinforced Concrete Pavements: Scaled Model Tests and Finite Element Analyses
by Binhui Ma, Long Peng, Tian Lan, Chao Zhang, Bicheng Du, Quan Peng, Jiaseng Chen, Xiangrong Li and Yuqi Li
Sustainability 2026, 18(8), 3767; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18083767 - 10 Apr 2026
Viewed by 288
Abstract
This study investigates the thermo-mechanical response of geocell-reinforced concrete pavements through scaled model tests and three-dimensional finite element analyses. Static, thermal, traffic, and coupled temperature–loading tests were conducted to clarify the deformation evolution, strain distribution, and damage-related response of the reinforced structure. The [...] Read more.
This study investigates the thermo-mechanical response of geocell-reinforced concrete pavements through scaled model tests and three-dimensional finite element analyses. Static, thermal, traffic, and coupled temperature–loading tests were conducted to clarify the deformation evolution, strain distribution, and damage-related response of the reinforced structure. The results show that, under static loading, pavement settlement evolves through three stages, namely initial compaction, plastic development, and stable strengthening, indicating progressive mobilization of geocell confinement. Under thermal loading, slab strain exhibits pronounced spatial and temporal non-uniformity, and the slab center is identified as the thermally sensitive zone. Under coupled temperature–loading conditions, both strain and settlement show a non-monotonic response near 1.1–1.3 kN, suggesting a potential damage-initiation range. Post-test crack observations further provide direct qualitative evidence that local cracking damage occurred in the slab under representative loading conditions. Under traffic loading, permanent deformation accumulates with load repetitions and is highly sensitive to load amplitude, indicating a load-sensitive transition in cumulative deformation behavior rather than a definitive fatigue threshold. Numerical results further show that geocell reinforcement reduces central settlement by 17.4% relative to plain concrete pavement and by 7.6% relative to doweled pavement, while producing a smoother deflection basin and a more uniform stress distribution. Parametric analyses indicate that the optimum geocell height is approximately one-third of the slab thickness; beyond this range, the marginal reinforcement benefit decreases. Overall, the results demonstrate that geocell reinforcement can effectively improve load transfer, deformation compatibility, and thermo-mechanical stability of concrete pavements under the investigated conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Pavement Design and Road Materials)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 11220 KB  
Article
Study on Odor-Reducing Effectiveness and Performance Impacts of Deodorizing Materials on Asphalt Binders
by Meng Guo, Lewen Wei, Ye Fu and Mingyang Guan
Sustainability 2025, 17(10), 4491; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17104491 - 15 May 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1444
Abstract
Asphalt binder flue gas emits irritating odors and poses health and environmental hazards. To promote the sustainable development of asphalt pavement construction, this study investigates the flue gas odor-reducing effectiveness and performance impacts of deodorizing materials on asphalt binders. A specialized asphalt binder [...] Read more.
Asphalt binder flue gas emits irritating odors and poses health and environmental hazards. To promote the sustainable development of asphalt pavement construction, this study investigates the flue gas odor-reducing effectiveness and performance impacts of deodorizing materials on asphalt binders. A specialized asphalt binder flue gas collection device was designed, coupled with an evaluation protocol tailored for asphalt deodorants, to systematically evaluate the odor-reducing effectiveness of materials B and C on both 70# pure asphalt binder and SBS-modified asphalt binder. Finally, the impacts of two kinds of deodorizing materials on the high-temperature and low-temperature performance of different asphalt binders were discussed. The results show that the odor-reducing effectiveness of tert-butyl-co-aldehyde-acting material C on odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and carbon monoxide (CO) in 70# pure asphalt binder flue gas is the best, reaching 66.7%, 49.1%, and 44.0%, respectively. The odor-reducing effectiveness of conjugated double bonds and aldehyde group synergistic material B on odorous VOCs, H2S, and CO in SBS-modified asphalt binder is the best, reaching 78.7%, 52.9%, and 51.0%, respectively. Both materials B and C can improve the high-temperature deformation resistance of 70# pure asphalt binder and SBS-modified asphalt binder. The anti-cracking properties of SBS-modified asphalt binder at low temperatures were improved to some extent by materials B and C, but the anti-cracking properties of 70# pure asphalt binder at low temperatures were not good. These asphalt binders all meet the specification requirements of a stiffness modulus not more than 300 MPa and a creep rate not less than 0.3. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Pavement Design and Road Materials)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop