Context-sensitive design in transportation infrastructure: relating tire/pavement noise with wearing course characteristics

A design can be defined as context-sensitive when it achieves effective technical and functional transportation solutions, while preserving and enhancing natural environments and minimizing impacts on local communities. Traffic noise is one of the most critical environmental impacts of transportation infrastructure and it affects both humans and ecosystems. Tire/pavement noise is caused by a set of interactions at the contact patch and it is the predominant source of road noise at the regular traffic speeds. Wearing course characteristics affect tire/pavement noise through various mechanisms. Furthermore, acoustic performance of road pavements varies over time and it is influenced by both aging and temperature. Three experimentations have been carried out to evaluate wearing course characteristics effects on tire/pavement noise. The first study involves the evaluation of skid resistance, surface texture and tire/pavement noise of an innovative application of multipurpose cold-laid microsurfacing. The second one involves the evaluation of the surface and acoustic characteristics of the different pavement sections of the test track of the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT) at the University of Waterloo. In the third study, a set of highway sections have been selected in Southern Ontario with various types of pavements. Noise measurements were carried out by means of the Statistical Pass-by (SPB) method in the first case study, whereas in the second and in the third one, Close-proximity (CPX) and the On-Board Sound Intensity (OBSI) methods have been performed in parallel. Test results have contributed to understand the effects of pavement materials, temperature and aging on tire/pavement noise. Negligible correlation was found between surface texture and roughness with noise. As a general trend, aged and stiffer materials have shown to provide higher noise levels than newer and less stiff ones. Noise levels were also observed to be higher with temperature increase.

Study of materials and technology of ancient floor mosaics' substrate

Ancient pavements are composed of a variety of preparatory or foundation layers constituting the substrate, and of a layer of tesserae, pebbles or marble slabs forming the surface of the floor. In other cases, the surface consists of a mortar layer beaten and polished. The term mosaic is associated with the presence of tesserae or pebbles, while the more general term pavement is used in all the cases. As past and modern excavations of ancient pavements demonstrated, all pavements do not necessarily display the stratigraphy of the substrate described in the ancient literary sources. In fact, the number and thickness of the preparatory layers, as well as the nature and the properties of their constituent materials, are often varying in pavements which are placed either in different sites or in different buildings within a same site or even in a same building. For such a reason, an investigation that takes account of the whole structure of the pavement is important when studying the archaeological context of the site where it is placed, when designing materials to be used for its maintenance and restoration, when documenting it and when presenting it to public. Five case studies represented by archaeological sites containing floor mosaics and other kind of pavements, dated to the Hellenistic and the Roman period, have been investigated by means of in situ and laboratory analyses. The results indicated that the characteristics of the studied pavements, namely the number and the thickness of the preparatory layers, and the properties of the mortars constituting them, vary according to the ancient use of the room where the pavements are placed and to the type of surface upon which they were built. The study contributed to the understanding of the function and the technology of the pavements’ substrate and to the characterization of its constituent materials. Furthermore, the research underlined the importance of the investigation of the whole structure of the pavement, included the foundation surface, in the interpretation of the archaeological context where it is located. A series of practical applications of the results of the research, in the designing of repair mortars for pavements, in the documentation of ancient pavements in the conservation practice, and in the presentation to public in situ and in museums of ancient pavements, have been suggested.

Performance evaluation of low environmental impact asphalt concretes using the mechanistic empirical design method based on laboratory fatigue and permanent deformation models

The "sustainability" concept relates to the prolonging of human economic systems with as little detrimental impact on ecological systems as possible. Construction that exhibits good environmental stewardship and practices that conserve resources in a manner that allow growth and development to be sustained for the long-term without degrading the environment are indispensable in a developed society. Past, current and future advancements in asphalt as an environmentally sustainable paving material are especially important because the quantities of asphalt used annually in Europe as well as in the U.S. are large. The asphalt industry is still developing technological improvements that will reduce the environmental impact without affecting the final mechanical performance. Warm mix asphalt (WMA) is a type of asphalt mix requiring lower production temperatures compared to hot mix asphalt (HMA), while aiming to maintain the desired post construction properties of traditional HMA. Lowering the production temperature reduce the fuel usage and the production of emissions therefore and that improve conditions for workers and supports the sustainable development. Even the crumb-rubber modifier (CRM), with shredded automobile tires and used in the United States since the mid 1980s, has proven to be an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional asphalt pavement. Furthermore, the use of waste tires is not only relevant in an environmental aspect but also for the engineering properties of asphalt [Pennisi E., 1992]. This research project is aimed to demonstrate the dual value of these Asphalt Mixes in regards to the environmental and mechanical performance and to suggest a low environmental impact design procedure. In fact, the use of eco-friendly materials is the first phase towards an eco-compatible design but it cannot be the only step. The eco-compatible approach should be extended also to the design method and material characterization because only with these phases is it possible to exploit the maximum potential properties of the used materials. Appropriate asphalt concrete characterization is essential and vital for realistic performance prediction of asphalt concrete pavements. Volumetric (Mix design) and mechanical (Permanent deformation and Fatigue performance) properties are important factors to consider. Moreover, an advanced and efficient design method is necessary in order to correctly use the material. A design method such as a Mechanistic-Empirical approach, consisting of a structural model capable of predicting the state of stresses and strains within the pavement structure under the different traffic and environmental conditions, was the application of choice. In particular this study focus on the CalME and its Incremental-Recursive (I-R) procedure, based on damage models for fatigue and permanent shear strain related to the surface cracking and to the rutting respectively. It works in increments of time and, using the output from one increment, recursively, as input to the next increment, predicts the pavement conditions in terms of layer moduli, fatigue cracking, rutting and roughness. This software procedure was adopted in order to verify the mechanical properties of the study mixes and the reciprocal relationship between surface layer and pavement structure in terms of fatigue and permanent deformation with defined traffic and environmental conditions. The asphalt mixes studied were used in a pavement structure as surface layer of 60 mm thickness. The performance of the pavement was compared to the performance of the same pavement structure where different kinds of asphalt concrete were used as surface layer. In comparison to a conventional asphalt concrete, three eco-friendly materials, two warm mix asphalt and a rubberized asphalt concrete, were analyzed. The First Two Chapters summarize the necessary steps aimed to satisfy the sustainable pavement design procedure. In Chapter I the problem of asphalt pavement eco-compatible design was introduced. The low environmental impact materials such as the Warm Mix Asphalt and the Rubberized Asphalt Concrete were described in detail. In addition the value of a rational asphalt pavement design method was discussed. Chapter II underlines the importance of a deep laboratory characterization based on appropriate materials selection and performance evaluation. In Chapter III, CalME is introduced trough a specific explanation of the different equipped design approaches and specifically explaining the I-R procedure. In Chapter IV, the experimental program is presented with a explanation of test laboratory devices adopted. The Fatigue and Rutting performances of the study mixes are shown respectively in Chapter V and VI. Through these laboratory test data the CalME I-R models parameters for Master Curve, fatigue damage and permanent shear strain were evaluated. Lastly, in Chapter VII, the results of the asphalt pavement structures simulations with different surface layers were reported. For each pavement structure, the total surface cracking, the total rutting, the fatigue damage and the rutting depth in each bound layer were analyzed.

Le reologia dei leganti bituminosi stradali: studio delle proprietà meccaniche a seguito di processi di “aging” in laboratorio

Lo studio effettuato pone le sue basi sulla ricerca di materiali stradali che combinino ad elevati standard prestazionali, la riduzione dell’impatto ambientale in fase realizzativa e manutentiva. In particolare il seguente lavoro si occupa dello studio di 7 leganti modificati con polimeri ed additivati con cere. I primi infatti conferiscono alla miscela maggiore elastoplasticità, incrementandone la durabilità e la resistenza a fatica. Nei secondi la presenza del materiale paraffinico contribuisce a ridurre la viscosità del bitume, consentendo un notevole abbassamento della temperatura di produzione e stesa della miscela. Numerosi studi hanno dimostrato che le caratteristiche meccaniche della pavimentazione sono fortemente influenzate dal grado di ossidazione delle componenti organiche del bitume, ovvero dal fenomeno dell’invecchiamento o aging. Pertanto allo studio reologico del bitume, si sono affiancate prove di simulazione dell’ invecchiamento nel breve e lungo termine. In fase di ricerca sperimentale si sono analizzati i leganti modificati ed additivati secondo la teoria della viscoelasticità, simulando le reali condizioni di carico ed invecchiamento alle quali il bitume è sottoposto. Tutte le prove di caratterizzazione reologica avanzata sono state effettuate mediante l’utilizzo del DSR (Dynamic Shear Rheometer - UNI EN 14770 ) in varie configurazioni di prova e l’invecchiamento a breve termine è stato simulato mediante RTFOT (Rolling thin film oven test -UNI EN 12607-1). Si è proposto inoltre una nuova procedura di aging invecchiando il bitume alla temperatura di Twork, ovvero a quel valore della temperatura tale per cui, in fase di messa in opera, si avrà una distribuzione molecolare omogenea del modificante all’interno del bitume.

Studio numerico e sperimentale delle miscele di aggregati per i conglomerati bituminosi

I crescenti volumi di traffico che interessano le pavimentazioni stradali causano sollecitazioni tensionali di notevole entità che provocano danni permanenti alla sovrastruttura. Tali danni ne riducono la vita utile e comportano elevati costi di manutenzione. Il conglomerato bituminoso è un materiale multifase composto da inerti, bitume e vuoti d'aria. Le proprietà fisiche e le prestazioni della miscela dipendono dalle caratteristiche dell'aggregato, del legante e dalla loro interazione. L’approccio tradizionalmente utilizzato per la modellazione numerica del conglomerato bituminoso si basa su uno studio macroscopico della sua risposta meccanica attraverso modelli costitutivi al continuo che, per loro natura, non considerano la mutua interazione tra le fasi eterogenee che lo compongono ed utilizzano schematizzazioni omogenee equivalenti. Nell’ottica di un’evoluzione di tali metodologie è necessario superare questa semplificazione, considerando il carattere discreto del sistema ed adottando un approccio di tipo microscopico, che consenta di rappresentare i reali processi fisico-meccanici dai quali dipende la risposta macroscopica d’insieme. Nel presente lavoro, dopo una rassegna generale dei principali metodi numerici tradizionalmente impiegati per lo studio del conglomerato bituminoso, viene approfondita la teoria degli Elementi Discreti Particellari (DEM-P), che schematizza il materiale granulare come un insieme di particelle indipendenti che interagiscono tra loro nei punti di reciproco contatto secondo appropriate leggi costitutive. Viene valutata l’influenza della forma e delle dimensioni dell’aggregato sulle caratteristiche macroscopiche (tensione deviatorica massima) e microscopiche (forze di contatto normali e tangenziali, numero di contatti, indice dei vuoti, porosità, addensamento, angolo di attrito interno) della miscela. Ciò è reso possibile dal confronto tra risultati numerici e sperimentali di test triassiali condotti su provini costituiti da tre diverse miscele formate da sfere ed elementi di forma generica.

Caratterizzazione avanzata in laboratorio di materie prime secondarie rigenerate o stabilizzate con emulsione di bitume e leganti cementizi

Il recupero dei materiali di scarto è un aspetto di grande attualità in campo stradale, così come negli altri ambiti dell’ingegneria civile. L’attenzione della ricerca e degli esperti del settore è rivolta all’affinamento di tecniche di riciclaggio che riducano l’impatto ambientale senza compromettere le prestazioni meccaniche finali. Tali indagini cercano di far corrispondere le necessità di smaltimento dei rifiuti con quelle dell’industria infrastrutturale, legate al reperimento di materiali da costruzione tecnicamente idonei ed economicamente vantaggiosi. Attualmente sono già diversi i tipi di prodotti rigenerati e riutilizzati nella realizzazione delle pavimentazioni stradali e numerosi sono anche quelli di nuova introduzione in fase di sperimentazione. In particolare, accanto ai materiali derivanti dalle operazioni di recupero della rete viaria, è opportuno considerare anche quelli provenienti dall’esercizio delle attività di trasporto, il quale comporta ogni anno il raggiungimento della fine della vita utile per centinaia di migliaia di tonnellate di pneumatici di gomma. L’obiettivo della presente analisi sperimentale è quello di fornire indicazioni e informazioni in merito alla tecnica di riciclaggio a freddo con emulsione bituminosa e cemento, valutando la possibilità di applicazione di tale metodologia in combinazione con il polverino di gomma, ottenuto dal recupero degli pneumatici fuori uso (PFU). La ricerca si distingue per una duplice valenza: la prima è quella di promuovere ulteriormente la tecnica di riciclaggio a freddo, che si sta imponendo per i suoi numerosi vantaggi economici ed ambientali, legati soprattutto alla temperatura d’esercizio; la seconda è quella di sperimentare l’utilizzo del polverino di gomma, nelle due forme di granulazione tradizionale e criogenica, additivato a miscele costituite interamente da materiale proveniente da scarifica di pavimentazioni esistenti e stabilizzate con diverse percentuali di emulsione di bitume e di legante cementizio.