Effects of super heavy trucks on the condition of road infrastructure

Are Permeable Pavements a Sustainable Solution? A Qualitative Study of the Usage of Permeable Pavements

“…As discussed in Section 2, Danish pavement systems are constructed based on frost protection; hence, a minimum thickness for each traffic group is important [15]. Frost protection is based on the water that evolves from the subgrade of clay or silt, which holds the water and creates air voids [17,18,26]. With respect to permeable pavements, this aspect changes the fact the pavement system should be constructed only based on frost protection, as water is intentionally let through the pavement and all the materials in the pavement design are exposed to water.…”

“…How water affects the permeable sub-base is of interest, as no studies were identified in the researching of the bearing capacity in comparison to water content. Different studies have assessed the effect of water on roads, especially [8,[16][17][18][19][20]. In these studies, it is explained that, traditionally, the lifespan of a sub-base material in a pavement depends on the traffic load, the subgrade, and whether the pavement construction is under optimal conditions.…”

“…Study [19,20] explains that a pavement construction is resilient, but it is not resilient enough to recover fully, so the material will also be deformed permanently to some degree. The degree of deformation is highly affected by the moisture content in the sub-base material and if water occurs earlier than expected theoretically [16][17][18][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. According to several studies [17,18,[26][27][28], adding water to a fine-grained material will increase the risk of permanent deformation and reduce the resilient properties in the material.…”

“…The degree of deformation is highly affected by the moisture content in the sub-base material and if water occurs earlier than expected theoretically [16][17][18][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. According to several studies [17,18,[26][27][28], adding water to a fine-grained material will increase the risk of permanent deformation and reduce the resilient properties in the material. Sub-base materials that are moistened to the optimal level will increase in strength.…”

“…A further increase will, however, cause a reduction in the strength of the material. Especially discussing traditional sub-base material, previous studies [17,18,[26][27][28] indicate that increased water content reduces the bearing capacity and the stiffness of the material. When discussing permeable pavements, this has not been evaluated yet [3].…”