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The Future of Road Pavement Materials: Towards the Improvement of Performances and Sustainability

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 407

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Università degli Studi eCampus, 22060 Novedrate, Italy
Interests: hot and cold recycling; waste materials in bituminous mixtures; clear binders; linear viscoelasticity and damage modeling; orthotropic steel deck pavements
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, many innovative materials and techniques have been introduced in the field of road pavements, with the aim of improving performance and reducing the impact on the environment during construction and service life. Indeed, the severe degree of climate change that is occurring on our planet is pushing pavement engineers to find solutions not only to limit the exploitation of natural resources, the generation of wastes, and the emission of pollutants but also to extend the durability of pavements and delay the necessity of maintenance interventions.

This Special Issue aims to collect up-to-date and high-quality studies that deal with the characterization and application of the aforementioned solutions, with a particular focus on the following topics:

  • Advanced materials for increasing the performance and durability of asphalt binders and mixtures;
  • Recycling of marginal materials and by-products from industrial processes in asphalt pavements;
  • Bio-binders, bitumen extenders, and replacers;
  • Structure performance, design, modeling, and service life prediction;
  • Advanced trends in rehabilitation and preservation.

Reviews and original papers correlated to the above themes and also dealing generally with methodologies, case studies, simulations, and experimental testing are welcome.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Materials.

Dr. Edoardo Bocci
Guest Editor

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

  • high-performing materials
  • innovative additives and bio-additives
  • re-use of marginal materials
  • recycling of reclaimed asphalt (cold, half-warm, warm, and hot techniques)
  • sustainable materials
  • environmental impact reduction
  • smart pavements
  • pavement asset management
  • life cycle assessment and cost analysis

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

28 pages, 9297 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Lightweight Aggregates from Diatomite Residue
by Maelson Mendonça de Souza, Normando Perazzo Barbosa, Marcos Alyssandro Soares dos Anjos, Evilane Cássia de Farias, João Gabriel Cruz Aguiar, José Anselmo da Silva Neto and Cinthia Maia Pederneiras
Sustainability 2025, 17(14), 6508; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17146508 - 16 Jul 2025
Viewed by 198
Abstract
This study assessed the feasibility of producing lightweight aggregates (LWAs) using diatomite waste (DW) as a clay substitute. The research aimed to reduce the consumption of natural resources and minimise the environmental impacts caused by the disorderly disposal of DW. Chemical, physical, and [...] Read more.
This study assessed the feasibility of producing lightweight aggregates (LWAs) using diatomite waste (DW) as a clay substitute. The research aimed to reduce the consumption of natural resources and minimise the environmental impacts caused by the disorderly disposal of DW. Chemical, physical, and mechanical tests were carried out on six formulations of mixtures containing 50% to 100% DW, sintered between 1100 and 1250 °C, resulting in 24 samples. The aggregates had a particle density between 1.14 and 2.13 g/cm3, a maximum bloating index of 5.7%, a crushing strength of up to 11.14 MPa, and a mass loss of up to 8.7%. Minimum porosity of 2.8 percent and water absorption of 2.0 percent were observed. Sixteen samples met the criteria required for commercial applications, demonstrating that replacing clay with DW is technically feasible. The high porosity of DW was found to influence the density of the LWAs. The findings of this study highlight the environmental sustainability of using DW as an alternative raw material, contributing to circular economy strategies in the construction sector. Full article
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