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
Sustainability of Pavement Engineering 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

Sustainability of Pavement Engineering and Road Materials

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 4577

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Chaohui Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Highway, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China
Interests: green pavement materials; intelligent pavement technology; solid waste utilization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Qian Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Highway, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China
Interests: green road materials; pavement preventive maintenance; asphalt modifying technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Ping Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Traffic & Transportation Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410114, China
Interests: pavement structure and materials
Prof. Dr. Yuanzhao Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450045, China
Interests: civil engineering; road engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since entering the 21st century, the emergence of new functional materials and the development of interdisciplinary research have provided strong support for the design and construction of all kinds of green roads. As a vital and integral component of transportation infrastructure, pavement has a direct and tangible impact on socio-economic sustainability. In recent years, an influx of groundbreaking and state-of-the-art materials, structures, and detection technologies related to road engineering have progressively emerged. Scholars around the world have carried out a great deal of in-depth research on pavement engineering and road materials, and a number of important innovative results have been achieved, which is of great significance for promoting road service performance.

This Special Issue addresses the above issues and aims to gather recent research work that advances knowledge about new pavement engineering and road materials. This Special Issue encourages the submission of academic, empirical, and case study research focusing on the topics below.

  • Green design and construction;
  • Applications of novel materials in pavement construction;
  • Polymer bonding materials;
  • Fiber-modified road materials;
  • Drainage pavement;
  • Cracking and healing in pavement;
  • Asphalt fume pollution prevention and control;
  • Automotive exhaust degradation materials;
  • Recycling for waste pavement materials;
  • Carbon footprint capture of road materials in the whole life cycle;
  • Biomass asphalt materials.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Chaohui Wang
Dr. Qian Chen
Prof. Dr. Ping Li
Prof. Dr. Yuanzhao Chen
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 engineering
  • road materials
  • sustainability
  • functional materials
  • environmental protection
  • solid waste
  • pavement recycling

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 (4 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

Jump to: Review

25 pages, 5830 KiB  
Article
Effect of Dispersed Polypropylene Fibers on the Strength and Stiffness of Cement-Stabilized Clayey Sand
by Maciej Miturski, Justyna Dzięcioł and Olga Szlachetka
Sustainability 2025, 17(13), 5803; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17135803 - 24 Jun 2025
Abstract
Soil stabilization with hydraulic binders like cement is widely used in road construction but significantly contributes to CO2 emissions. This study investigates a more sustainable alternative involving the use of dispersed polypropylene fiber reinforcement to improve the mechanical properties of stabilized soils [...] Read more.
Soil stabilization with hydraulic binders like cement is widely used in road construction but significantly contributes to CO2 emissions. This study investigates a more sustainable alternative involving the use of dispersed polypropylene fiber reinforcement to improve the mechanical properties of stabilized soils while reducing cement consumption. Nine clay sand mixtures with varying cement (2–6%) and fiber (0–0.5%) contents were tested using unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) methods. Fiber addition improved UCS by 5.59% in a mix with 2% cement and 0.25% fibers and by 25.45% in one with 4% cement and 0.25% fibers. This shows that fibers can improve strength at different cement levels. A novel reinforcement index (Ri) was introduced to predict UCS empirically. The model showed that using 0.5% fibers (Ri=1.0%) enabled a 25.12% reduction in cement without compromising strength. However, this improvement came at the cost of stiffness: deformation modulus E50 decreased by up to 67.51% at 0.5% fiber content. Statistical validation using MAE, RMSE, and MAPE confirmed the model’s accuracy. Although the results were based on a single soil type, they showed that polypropylene fibers can support decarbonization efforts by reducing cement demand and represent a technically feasible approach to more sustainable geotechnical engineering applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Pavement Engineering and Road Materials)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 31849 KiB  
Article
Numerically Simulated Asphalt Thermal Maps for More Sustainable Road Management
by Gonzalo García-Ros, Juan Francisco Sánchez-Pérez, Jose Joaquín Salazar-Ros, Santiago Oviedo-Casado, Victor García-Rabadán and Gloria Motos-Cascales
Sustainability 2024, 16(23), 10648; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310648 - 4 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1142
Abstract
Road construction and maintenance are crucial for a functioning society, and achieving cost-effective and environmentally sustainable practices requires a deep understanding of road degradation processes. Temperature fluctuations and extreme temperatures are significant contributors to road surface deterioration, leading to issues such as cracking, [...] Read more.
Road construction and maintenance are crucial for a functioning society, and achieving cost-effective and environmentally sustainable practices requires a deep understanding of road degradation processes. Temperature fluctuations and extreme temperatures are significant contributors to road surface deterioration, leading to issues such as cracking, rutting, and deformation, which not only reduce the road lifespan but also release fine particulate matter, posing environmental hazards. In this study, we develop detailed road surface temperature maps for Spain, using real-time weather and solar irradiation data from 46 evenly distributed meteorological stations. These maps provide hourly average road surface temperatures for each season and highlight extreme conditions during summer and winter, incorporating meteorological variables such as air temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity, showing that during winter, but particularly during summer, most of the territory is subjected to extreme temperatures. By visualizing thermal stress on road surfaces, the road surface temperature maps enable the identification of high-risk areas, supporting targeted maintenance, conservation efforts, and pollution mitigation, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable road infrastructure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Pavement Engineering and Road Materials)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 4159 KiB  
Article
High-Temperature Characteristics of Polyphosphoric Acid-Modified Asphalt and High-Temperature Performance Prediction Analysis of Its Mixtures
by Meiyan Huang, Jianguo Wei, Yuming Zhou, Ping Li, Jinming Li, Haolong Ju and Song Shi
Sustainability 2024, 16(12), 4922; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16124922 - 8 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1500
Abstract
To promote the application of economical and sustainable polyphosphoric acid (PPA)-modified asphalt in road engineering, styrene-butadiene block copolymer (SBS), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), and PPA were used to prepare PPA/SBS and PPA/SBR composite-modified asphalts, which were tested and the data analyzed. Fourier transform infrared [...] Read more.
To promote the application of economical and sustainable polyphosphoric acid (PPA)-modified asphalt in road engineering, styrene-butadiene block copolymer (SBS), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), and PPA were used to prepare PPA/SBS and PPA/SBR composite-modified asphalts, which were tested and the data analyzed. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) tests and thermogravimetric analysis (TG) tests were carried out to study the modification mechanisms of the composite-modified asphalts, and the high-temperature performance of the PPA-modified asphalt and asphalt mixtures was analyzed by dynamic shear rheology (DSR) tests and wheel tracking tests. A gray correlation analysis and a back-propagation (BP) neural network were utilized to construct a prediction model of the high-temperature performance of the asphalt and asphalt mixtures. The test results indicate that PPA chemically interacts with the base asphalt and physically integrates with SBS and SBR. The PPA-modified asphalt has a higher decomposition temperature than the base asphalt, indicating superior thermal stability. As the PPA dosage increases, the G*/sinδ value of the PPA-modified asphalt also increases. In particular, when 0.6% PPA is combined with 2% SBS/SBR, it surpasses the high-temperature performance achieved with 4% SBS/SBR, suggesting that PPA may be a good alternative for polymer modifiers. In addition, the creep recovery of PPA-modified asphalt is influenced by the stress level, and as the stress increases, the R-value decreases, resulting in reduced elastic deformation. Furthermore, the BP neural network model achieved a fit of 0.991 in predicting dynamic stability, with a mean percentage of relative error (MAPE) of 6.15% between measured and predicted values. This underscores the feasibility of using BP neural networks in predictive dynamic stability models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Pavement Engineering and Road Materials)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

28 pages, 4963 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Properties and Application Progress of Cement-Based Materials with Iron Tailing
by Xianlei Chao, Chang Han, Cheng Shao, Chenxu Wang, Penghui Wen and Chaohui Wang
Sustainability 2024, 16(23), 10631; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310631 - 4 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1000
Abstract
In the context of the comprehensive green transformation of infrastructure construction, utilizing bulk waste tailings materials, such as iron tailing, in cement-based materials commonly used in the infrastructure sector holds significant practical importance. However, there are differences in the range of iron tailings [...] Read more.
In the context of the comprehensive green transformation of infrastructure construction, utilizing bulk waste tailings materials, such as iron tailing, in cement-based materials commonly used in the infrastructure sector holds significant practical importance. However, there are differences in the range of iron tailings content used in previous studies, and the research results are quite scattered. There has not yet been a recommendation for a reasonable material ratio, which severely restricts the resource utilization of iron tailings in cement-based materials. To effectively guide the design and performance optimization of cement-based materials using iron tailing, recent advances related to iron tailing cement-based materials have been reviewed systematically. The previous studies on the composition design of iron tailing in cement-based materials were summarized, and the effect of iron tailing and cement on the mechanical properties and durability of various cement-based materials were highlighted. The results show that the recommended content of iron tailing sand in concrete is 25–50%. Under this content, the mechanical properties of iron tailing sand concrete increase the most, and it has better drying shrinkage performance and carbonation resistance. For cement stabilized base materials, the recommended content of iron tailing sand is 11–20%. Under this content, its mechanical properties increase significantly, and it also has excellent drying shrinkage and temperature shrinkage performance. The increase in the content of iron tailing stones reduces the mechanical properties of cement stabilized materials. Cement stabilized iron tailing stones can be applied to the roadbase by adjusting the cement content and the content of iron tailing stones. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Pavement Engineering 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 1-4
Back to TopTop