Special Issue "Sustainability in Pavement Design and Pavement Management"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Adelino Jorge Lopes Ferreira
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: pavement design; pavement maintenance management; maintenance and rehabilitation of pavements; pavement energy harvesting; pavement management systems; transport infrastructure management; road safety management systems
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. João Santos
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Construction Management and Engineering (CME), Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET), University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
Interests: operational research methods applied to life cycle sustainability and resilience assessment; combinatorial optimization; metaheuristics; multicriteria decision analysis (mcda); data mining and statistical modelling; climate change and extreme events impacts on the new and existing civil infrastructure systems
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Boosted by the increasing global awareness of sustainability principles and the effects of climate change, an ever-growing number of governments, transport infrastructure management agencies and private infrastructure owners are all striving to make their business more sustainable. Within this context, road and airport pavements are a type of transport infrastructure particularly meaningful for consideration due to the existing long service life requirements, the considerable consumption of energy and non-renewable resources, and the significant generation of emissions and waste during their construction, maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R).

Moreover, ongoing efforts devoted to promoting sustainable practices often tend to focus on pavement design, paving materials selection, mixtures production and the construction activities. While these factors related to the non-operational life cycle phase are all worthy of consideration, there may be significant sustainability opportunities that are missed by neglecting the benefits resulting from considering, in an integrated way, the triple bottom line principles in the whole pavement’s life cycle, the recent advances in computational optimization and simulation techniques and the availability of cheap computational capabilities.

Articles are welcome on this Special Issue which enhance stakeholders' capacity to make strategic and more informed decisions regarding the design, construction, M&R and operation of road and airport pavements that would ultimately enhance the sustainability of transportation systems. Specifically, the studies of this Special Issue are expected to address cutting edge research and development in the following topics:

  • Pavement design methodologies.
  • Construction techniques and strategies.
  • Rehabilitation, preservation, and maintenance strategies.
  • Pavement Management Systems.
  • Pavement maintenance optimization models.
  • Pavement performance prediction models.
  • User costs models.
  • Life-Cycle Cost Analysis.
  • Life-Cycle Assessment.
  • Social Life-Cycle Assessment.
  • Life-Cycle Sustainability Assessment.
  • Triple Bottom Line Sustainability Analysis.
  • Context-Sensitive Life Cycle Inventory Data.
  • Multicriteria Decision Making Methods.
  • Artificial Intelligence applied to pavements.
  • System Dynamics.
  • Agent-Based Modeling.
  • Operational Research Methods applied to pavements.
  • Other advanced analytical and computational techniques applied to pavements.

Prof. Adelino Ferreira
Prof. João Santos
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 papers will be 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 1900 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

  • Roads
  • Airports
  • Pavement Design
  • Pavement Management
  • Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Pavements
  • Sustainability
  • Life-Cycle Assessment
  • Life-Cycle Cost Analysis
  • Life-Cycle Sustainability Assessment
  • Optimization Models
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Simulation Models
  • Operational Research Methods

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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Article
Evaluation of Linear Deformation and Unloading Stiffness Characteristics of Asphalt Mixtures Incorporating Various Aggregate Gradations
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8865; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168865 - 08 Aug 2021
Viewed by 335
Abstract
Optimum stiffness and linear deformation in the unloading phase are fundamental properties of asphalt mixtures required for the durability of flexible pavements. In this research, blends of six different aggregate gradations were used for two base course (BC) and four wearing course (WC) [...] Read more.
Optimum stiffness and linear deformation in the unloading phase are fundamental properties of asphalt mixtures required for the durability of flexible pavements. In this research, blends of six different aggregate gradations were used for two base course (BC) and four wearing course (WC) asphalt mixtures. Stability and indirect tensile strength of resulting asphalt mixtures were evaluated to relate to viscoelastic unloading deformation and resilient moduli (instantaneous (MRI) and total (MRT)) at 25 °C using a 40/50 binder for 0.1 and 0.3 s load durations. Results indicated that an increase in coarse aggregate proportion from 48 to 70% for BC has shown a 12% and 14% increase in MRT for 0.1 and 0.3 s load durations, respectively, and an increase in coarse aggregate proportion from 41 to 57.5% for WC has caused a 26% and 20% increase in MRI for 0.1 and 0.3 s load durations, respectively. The same coarse aggregate proportions showed an increase in linear viscoelastic deformation at 0.1 s load duration from 54.6 to 68.2% for WC and from 53.0 to 62.7% for BC, whereas for 0.3 s load duration linear viscoelastic deformation increased from 58.1 to 69.1% for WC and 64.3 to 69.2% for BC. The findings of this study will assist in the selection of aggregate gradations to be used in wearing and base course asphalt mixtures for pavement design, construction and maintenance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Pavement Design and Pavement Management)
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Article
The Innovative Model of Runway Sustainable Management on Smaller Regional Airports
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 652; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020652 - 12 Jan 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 535
Abstract
Airport runways are exposed to large traffic loads and other external factors which cause their transformation. Monitoring the state of the unevenness and determining the runway defectiveness is a complex procedure which includes fast and qualitative measurements of the execution of flatness, their [...] Read more.
Airport runways are exposed to large traffic loads and other external factors which cause their transformation. Monitoring the state of the unevenness and determining the runway defectiveness is a complex procedure which includes fast and qualitative measurements of the execution of flatness, their evaluation and the determination of the level of runway defectiveness. For this purpose, an improved process of determining airport runway defectiveness is proposed, based on geodetic survey and the management information system prototype, which enables evaluating the results of the executed survey and suggesting the runway maintenance measures. A similar analysis of the considered data on the example of a smaller, regional airport in Maribor, Slovenia, was performed with the help of our own algorithm, which, on various platforms, enables the tabular and graphical display of surface irregularities. The algorithm prototype allows the automated monitoring and evaluating of the unevenness or runway states, determining their defectiveness and advising adequate action. With the help of the suggested method and developed information system prototypes, it is possible to confirm the demand for professionally adequate and on-time planning of necessary maintenance works, with which it is surely possible to prevent an eventual unexpected closing of the runway and related costs. The suggested method is also usable in evaluating the state of other traffic infrastructure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Pavement Design and Pavement Management)
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Article
Detection of Road Surface Changes from Multi-Temporal Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Images Using a Convolutional Siamese Network
Sustainability 2020, 12(6), 2482; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062482 - 22 Mar 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 919
Abstract
Road quality commonly decreases due to aging and deterioration of road surfaces. As the number of roads that need to be surveyed increases, general maintenance—particularly surveillance—can be quite costly if carried out using traditional methods. Therefore, using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and deep [...] Read more.
Road quality commonly decreases due to aging and deterioration of road surfaces. As the number of roads that need to be surveyed increases, general maintenance—particularly surveillance—can be quite costly if carried out using traditional methods. Therefore, using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and deep learning to detect changes via surveys is a promising strategy. This study proposes a method for detecting changes on road surfaces using pairs of UAV images captured at different times. First, a convolutional Siamese network is introduced to extract the features of an image pair and a Euclidean distance function is applied to calculate the distance between two features. Then, a contrastive loss function is used to enlarge the distance between changed feature pairs and reduce the distance between unchanged feature pairs. Finally, the initial change map is improved based on the preliminary differences between the two input images. Our experimental results confirm the effectiveness of this approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Pavement Design and Pavement Management)
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Article
Life Cycle Costs Analysis of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) Under Future Climate
Sustainability 2019, 11(19), 5414; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11195414 - 30 Sep 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1482
Abstract
Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) has received wide application in asphalt pavement construction and maintenance and it has shown cost-effectiveness over virgin hot mix asphalt (HMA). HMA with a high content of reclaimed asphalt (RA) (e.g., 40%) is sometimes used in practice, however, it [...] Read more.
Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) has received wide application in asphalt pavement construction and maintenance and it has shown cost-effectiveness over virgin hot mix asphalt (HMA). HMA with a high content of reclaimed asphalt (RA) (e.g., 40%) is sometimes used in practice, however, it may have significant adverse effects on the life cycle performance and related costs. In particular, challenges may arise as the life cycle performance of RAP is also affected by local climatic conditions. Thus, it is important to investigate whether it is still economic to use RAP under future local climate, with consideration of life cycle performance. A case study was conducted for various road structures on Interstate 95 (I-95) in New Hampshire (NH), USA for the investigation. The case study utilized dynamic modulus testing results for local virgin HMA and HMA with 40% RA (as major material alternatives) to predict life cycle performance of the selected pavement structures, considering downscaled future climates. Then, a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) was considered to estimate and compare the life cycle cash flow of the investigated road structures. Responsive maintenance (overlay) and effectiveness were also considered in this study. It was found that using 40% RA in HMA can reduce agency costs by up to approximately 18% under the 2020–2040 predicted climate and NH should consider this practice under predicted future climate to reduce agency costs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Pavement Design and Pavement Management)
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Article
Incorporating Dynamic Traffic Distribution into Pavement Maintenance Optimization Model
Sustainability 2019, 11(9), 2488; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092488 - 28 Apr 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 999
Abstract
An optimal pavement maintenance strategy can keep the pavement performance at a high level under budget constraint. However, the impact of changes in traffic distribution caused by maintenance actions on user costs is rarely investigated in existing approaches. This research aims to solve [...] Read more.
An optimal pavement maintenance strategy can keep the pavement performance at a high level under budget constraint. However, the impact of changes in traffic distribution caused by maintenance actions on user costs is rarely investigated in existing approaches. This research aims to solve the optimization of pavement maintenance strategy using a multi-stage dynamic programming model combined with the stochastic user equilibrium model, which can simulate the dynamic traffic distribution in the life cycle. To deal with the proposed model, a heuristic iterative algorithm is put forward. Ultimately, a hypothetical network is established to test the model and algorithm. The testing results prove that the proposed framework has an advantage in assessing user costs comprehensively and can provide an effective and optimal pavement maintenance strategy in a 30-year life cycle, which improves the efficiency of budget and pavement conditions. Additionally, this research provides quantitative evidence of interdependency in a road network, i.e., pavement maintenance actions on links can interfere with the user costs and traffic flow distribution in the whole network, which should be taken into account in pavement maintenance decision-making. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Pavement Design and Pavement Management)
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Review

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Review
Flexible Pavements and Climate Change: A Comprehensive Review and Implications
Sustainability 2020, 12(3), 1057; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031057 - 02 Feb 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1878
Abstract
Flexible pavements and climate are interactive. Pavements are climate sensitive infrastructure, where climate can impact their deterioration rate, subsequent maintenance, and life-cycle costs. Meanwhile, climate mitigation measures are urgently needed to reduce the environmental impacts of pavements and related transportation on the macroclimate [...] Read more.
Flexible pavements and climate are interactive. Pavements are climate sensitive infrastructure, where climate can impact their deterioration rate, subsequent maintenance, and life-cycle costs. Meanwhile, climate mitigation measures are urgently needed to reduce the environmental impacts of pavements and related transportation on the macroclimate and microclimate. Current pavement design and life cycle management practices may need to be modified to adapt to changing climates and to reduce environmental impacts. This paper reports an extensive literature search on qualitative and quantitative pavement research related to climate change in recent years. The topics cover climate stressors, sensitivity of pavement performance to climatic factors, impacts of climate change on pavement systems, and, most importantly, discussions of climate change adaptation, mitigation, and their interactions. This paper is useful for those who aim to understand or research the climate resilience of flexible pavements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Pavement Design and Pavement Management)
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