Technical and Economic Sustainability of Concrete Pavements

Moretti, Laura

doi:10.5539/mas.v8n3p1

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(5 reference statements)

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“…At the end of the study, an economic analysis has been carried out to estimate the unit costs for repairing a runway discontinuity [46,47]. Unit costs derive from the official price list used by the Italian Air Force (internal document) (Rome, Italy).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laboratory and On-Site Tests for Rapid Runway Repair

Leonelli

Mascio

Germinario³

et al. 2017

Applied Sciences

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Featured Application: The results of this study offer a broad vision for the rapid runway repair, giving a useful quantitative and objective tool for airport management body; moreover, they could be applied also for road pavements. Abstract:The attention to rapid pavement repair has grown fast in recent decades: this topic is strategic for the airport management process for civil purposes and peacekeeping missions. This work presents the results of laboratory and on-site tests for rapid runway repair, in order to analyse and compare technical and mechanical performances of 12 different materials currently used in airport. The study focuses on site repairs, a technique adopted most frequently than repairs with modular elements. After describing mechanical and physical properties of the examined materials (2 bituminous emulsions, 5 cement mortars, 4 cold bituminous mixtures and 1 expanding resin), the study presents the results of carried out mechanical tests. The results demonstrate that the best performing material is a one-component fast setting and hardening cement mortar with graded aggregates. This material allows the runway reopening 6 h after the work. A cold bituminous mixture (bicomponent premixed cold asphalt with water as catalyst) and the ordinary cement concrete allow the reopening to traffic after 18 h, but both ensure a lower service life (1000 coverages) than the cement mortar (10,000 coverages). The obtained results include important information both laboratory level and field, and they could be used by airport management bodies and road agencies when scheduling and evaluating pavement repairs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laboratory and On-Site Tests for Rapid Runway Repair

Leonelli

Mascio

Germinario³

et al. 2017

Applied Sciences

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“…For this purpose, more reflective asphalt mixes [18] and concrete pavements [19] have been studied. Particularly, in the past, the use of concrete has been encouraged as an alternative to the commonly adopted asphalt mixes because of its long service life and durability without needing onerous maintenance works [20]. Another huge benefit to using concrete pavements in tunnels regards the road safety as the reduced maintenance works required by this type of pavement decreases the reduction of a lane change and therefore reduces the likelihood of accidents related to maintenance phases [21].…”

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Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Lighting Systems and Road Pavements in an Italian Twin-Tube Road Tunnel

2018

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This work calculates and discusses the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of four scenarios composed of two types of road pavements and two types of lighting systems to be built in an Italian twin-tube road tunnel. A 20-year time horizon is adopted to assess the burdens of construction and maintenance of both flexible and rigid pavements and high-pressure sodium (HPS) and light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, traffic, and switching on of lamps. All considered scenarios are comparable with each other in terms of technical performances, but significantly differ regarding their environmental consequences. The geometrical and technical characteristics of the examined scenarios comply with current Italian standards for highways. In all the examined cases, LCA is carried out according to the European standard, EN 15804, and includes 19 impact categories (IC). The analysis demonstrates that the use of more reflecting surface pavement materials (i.e., concrete vs. asphalt) and more performing lighting systems (i.e., LED vs. HPS) can effectively mitigate the deleterious burdens related to road construction, maintenance, and use. For most of the examined ICs, the most environment-friendly scenario has LED lamps and concrete pavement.Sustainability 2018, 10, 4165 2 of 18 the efficiency of lighting systems during their service life. However, LEDs are not globally used for road lighting systems. Indeed, HPS lamps are currently one of the most used types of light source and the road lighting upgrade is still in progress [11].Many other complementary measures could contribute to operational energy efficiency in road tunnels. The most effective ones concern the tunnel lining and the road surface materials. Indeed, self-cleaning lining panels can produce 2.5% energy savings [12], while the use of a white and highly-reflective road surface materials can improve the driver visibility, and save more than 20% due to less luminaires required [10].Design options of a road infrastructure determine its sustainability and efficiency during the whole life cycle. For road tunnels and similar underground structures, in particular, there are both technical and economic constraints and opportunities to be considered [13,14]. In fact, these infrastructures require special attention due to their technical characteristics and performances that they must ensure, especially regarding the safety and comfort of users [15]. A road tunnel, in fact, is a complex infrastructure where a sensitive equilibrium is needed between the civil structures and the technical systems; among these components, an important role is played by the road pavement and the lighting system [16]. They determine the safety condition experimented by users, in terms of friction, stability, evenness, and visibility along the road section. At the same time, they significantly influence the economic, environmental, and energetic sustainability of the tunnel [17]. Recent research has highlighted that the use of lighter surfaced pavements can be a valid design solution to reduce lighting consumpt...

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“…The roundabout will be the first one in Italy with a jointed plain concrete pavement, and will serve heavy traffic from and to a cement factory. The choice of a concrete pavement is justified by the lower maintenance required than an equivalent bituminous pavement [27,28]. The proposed study involves traffic analysis, geometric design of the intersection, calculation of the pavement thickness, design of joint layout, and laboratory tests to define the concrete mix.…”

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Design of the First Italian Roundabout with Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement

et al. 2018

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This work presents the results of the overall design of the first Italian roundabout with jointed plain concrete pavement. The examined case study complies with current international standards and practices for geometry of roundabouts and road pavements. The construction of a concrete pavement in an urban roundabout will better manage and slow down fast vehicular flows, and increase traffic fluidity in an important junction, trafficked by heavy vehicles, where maintenance works should be reduced to avoid queues. The design of the roundabout involved several competences for: defining the geometry of the four-arm junction, designing the thickness of the jointed plain concrete pavement both on the circular crown and the arms, studying the mix design of a high resistance concrete. As regard to the pavement, the result of the study was an un-dowelled concrete pavement composed of square slabs laid on a cement concrete subbase and a granular layer. The shape of the slabs has been designed to optimize the structural performance of their material, which is a high strength concrete mix derived from an extensive laboratory test work. In general, the results summarized approaches typical of different design conditions: urban ones for traffic flow and safety needs; high-traffic ones for the chosen pavement type; airport ones for the absence of dowel and tie bars at the joints. Indeed, the article has highlighted that the design process of a concrete roundabout requires multiple analyses to consider various features and correctly re-design an existing urban junction. Its geometrical design, the structural design of the concrete pavement and the theoretical and experimental design of the concrete mix were the main phases of this process and they needed different competences to conduct comprehensive and appropriate analyses.

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Technical and Economic Sustainability of Concrete Pavements

Cited by 20 publications

References 11 publications

Laboratory and On-Site Tests for Rapid Runway Repair

Laboratory and On-Site Tests for Rapid Runway Repair

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Lighting Systems and Road Pavements in an Italian Twin-Tube Road Tunnel

Design of the First Italian Roundabout with Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement

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