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The key factors for effective pavement management system (PMS) are timely preservation and rehabilitation activities, which provide benefit in terms of drivers’ safety, comfort, budget and impact on the environment. In order to reasonably plan the preservation and rehabilitation activities, the pavement performance models are used. The pavement performance models are usually based on damage and distress observations of rural roads, and can be applied to forecast the performance of urban roads. However, the adjustment of the parameters related to traffic volume, speed and load, climate conditions, and maintenance has to be made before adding them to PMS for urban roads. The main objective of this study is to identify the performance indicators and to suggest pavement condition establishment methodology of urban roads in Vilnius. To achieve the objective, the distresses (rut depth and cracks), bearing capacity, and international roughness index (IRI) were measured for fifteen urban roads in service within a two-year period. The distresses, rut depth and IRI were collected with the Road Surface Tester (RST) and bearing capacity of pavement structures were measured with a Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD). The measured distresses were compared to the threshold values identified in the research. According to the measured data, the combined pavement condition indices using two methodologies were determined, as well as a global condition index for each road. The analysed roads were prioritized for maintenance and rehabilitation in respect to these criteria. Based on the research findings, the recommendations for further pavement condition monitoring and pavement performance model implementation to PMS were highlighted.

Mechanical properties and slab dimensions of concrete are the major parameters based on which the performance of concrete pavement structures is predicted. Precast concrete pavement, as one of the most common modular pavement type, is the advanced next-generation technology characterised as high quality, durable, quickly built and easily maintained. The service conditions of precast concrete pavement (traffic loading and environmental effects) are similar to the conventional cast-in-place jointed plain concrete pavement. Thus, the precast concrete pavement structural design is similar to that of jointed plain concrete pavement. There are several concepts for the design of concrete pavement structure. However, they are based on different distress evaluation and critical stresses estimation methods assuming the slab dimensions that for jointed plain concrete pavement are within the wide joint spacing range from 3.5−6.0 m. The objective of this paper is to analytically evaluate the effect of concrete mixture mechanical properties on the thickness and dimensions of precast concrete pavement slab. Also, define the minimal thickness of precast concrete slab dependent on slab dimensions and concrete mixture mechanical properties elastic modulus and tensile splitting strength. The analysis is based on bearing capacity, performance and fatigue boundary conditions as reported by semi-probabilistic pavement design method Richtlinien für die rechnerische Dimensionierung von Betondecken im Oberbau von Verkehrsflächen RDO Beton 09. Considering that, concrete mixture has significant effects on pavement performance; the composition of concrete was also discussed in this paper. The optimal slab dimensions, concrete layer thickness, and base layer type is suggested in this paper. The outcomes of this analysis apply to the production of precast concrete pavement slabs.

Municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) bottom ash (constituting approximately 80–90%) and fly ash are by-products of the incineration of solid waste. In general, MSWI residues are primarily discarded into landfills. To address the continuous growth of landfills and to implement zero waste and circular economy policies, researchers are focusing on more efficient ways of using MSWI bottom ash. To that end, the best practices show that MSWI bottom ash is suitable for civil engineering applications, especially roads. Therefore, the subject of this research was the performance of subgrade and different unbound and bound pavement structural layers containing bottom ash. An algorithm was also introduced to facilitate the use of MSWI bottom ash as a building material. Soil and mineral aggregate mixtures with different percentages (0–100%) of bottom ash were designed and analysed, and more than 10 testing subjects containing a high amount of MSWI bottom ash were tested in the laboratory. The research revealed the suitability of the 0/2 fraction of bottom ash to improve soil and to enhance the performance of asphalt concrete mixture AC 16 PD in which the 0/4 fraction of sand is replaced with the 0/2 fraction of bottom ash. Furthermore, the suitability of mixtures composed of mineral aggregates and MSWI bottom ash or only of MSWI bottom ash (100%) to construct sub-base and base courses was confirmed.

The ground penetrating radar (GPR) in roads is use to investigate the pavement structure layers thickness on network and project level, misaligned dowels and tie bar in concrete pavement, moisture and ground water level, air voids of asphalt layers, and to assure the quality control. Since, pavement layer thickness and materials properties are the key parameters for pavement bearing capacity and residual life determination the effective and reliable GPR analysis procedure is substantial for pavement management system. However, in order to determine asphalt layers thickness the dielectric constant or GPR velocity have to be known. The most common practice to determine the dielectric constant of specific pavement layer is to drill the cores at least every 1 km, as combination of destructive and non-destructive methods. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the dielectric constant to asphalt layers thickness determination accuracy. The dielectric constant of asphalt layers and GPR measurements were performed in the 27th pavement sections of the Test Road. The dielectric constant of asphalt layers calculated based on drilled cores data. Analysing the wearing, binder, and base layers separately and in combination. Finally, the errors of determined thicknesses of pavement layers were compared with actual thickness. To determine the dielectric constant influence to the asphalt layer thickness of road sections were investigated by drilling cores and determined the actual thickness. The dielectric constant based on core data and GPR measurements were compared. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/enviro.2020.636

In the European Union, more than 140 million tonnes of municipal solid waste is incinerated annually. It generates about 30–40 million tonnes of residues known as municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash, which is typically landfilled. To deal with growing landfills, there is a need to utilize municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash as a building material. It has been known that municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash properties strongly depend on waste composition, which is directly influenced by people’s habits, economic policy, and technologies for metals recovery of bottom ash. Thus, municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash produced in a specific country or region has primarily to be tested to determine its physical and mechanical properties. The main aim of this study is to determine municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash physical and mechanical properties (aggregate particle size distribution, water content, oven-dried particle density, loose bulk density, Proctor density, optimal water content, California Bearing Ratio after and before soaking, permeability, Flakiness Index, Shape Index, percentage of crushed and broken surfaces, resistance to fragmentation (Los Angeles coefficient), water absorption and resistance to freezing and thawing). Municipal solid waste in-cinerator bottom ash produced in the waste-to-energy plant in Klaipėda (Lithuania) was used in this research. Ferrous and non-ferrous metals were separated after more than three months of municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash ageing in the atmosphere. The study showed promising results from considering municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash as possible aggregates for road building materials.

The catalogues of standard pavement structures are common way to design road pavements. In 2019, new regulation for the design of standard pavement structures KPT SDK 19 was issued in Lithuania. One of the new requirements require verification of layer thickness of high-class pavement structures. Such verification should be done by internationally approved mechanistic-empirical methods. In addition, it is recommended to use the same methods to adjust the layer thickness of the selected standard pavement structure for lower classes. These calculations are particularly applicable when the design load (ESAL) is at the lower or upper limit of the class range. Vilnius Tech Road Research Institute experts and outsource IT specialists spent two years for the design model ViaStructura development. Web software based on mechanistic-empiric approach include the boundary conditions, based on Austria, the United States and Germany experience and laboratory test results of construction materials. Materials can be selected from created database, which can be simply expanded with the new materials by the user. as Additional function allow comparison of separate designed pavement structures. The article present the concept of the ViaStructura model for the design of flexible pavement structures, reveals its main principles and advantages comparing to the pavement structure selection by the standard catalogue.

The aim of this research was to define the effect of oxidative aging on the chemical and rheological properties of neat and styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) polymer-modified bitumen. The experimental research had two objectives: firstly, the short and long-term effects of aging on the properties of neat and polymer-modified bitumen were investigated. Then, the aging indexes based on chemical and rheological properties to describe the age of unknown bitumen were established. Aging characteristics such as the Gaestel index, sulfoxide and carbonyl indexes, linear viscoelastic strain range, crossover temperature, and Glover–Rowe parameter were analysed for laboratory aged and naturally aged neat and polymer-modified bitumen. The functional composition of aged bitumen was evaluated by measuring absorption with Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectrometer. The saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes (SARA) fractions were determined with thin layer chromatography with flame-ionization detection (TLC-FID) to determine the colloidal instability index (Gaestel index). Finally, the complex shear modulus was determined with dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) to evaluate the influence of aging on the bitumen mechanical performance., This project has received funding from the European Social Fund (project No 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-02-0111) under a grant agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT).

With development of nanotechnology, the application of nano materials to improve the bitumen became a focus of many researchers. The manipulation of material composition in nanoscale has led to creation of macro-materials with better mechanical performance and durability. However, the influence of nano materials to bitumen behaviour is still unclear. The objective of this research was to determine the influence of nano materials to rheological properties of bitumen. Based on literature analysis the most promising nano-materials and their composition were selected for experimental research. The rheological properties were determined for 29 specimens produced from two bitumen (non-aged 70/100 and PMB 45/80-55) and three nano-materials (nano SiO2, nano TiO2 and nano ZnO). The dynamic shear modulus and phase angle, fatigue performance and non-recoverable creep compliance parameters were determined with Dynamic Shear Rheometer. Statistical analysis was conducted to relate the bitumen modification variables with the rheological properties. The research results showed that nano materials improve bitumen resistance to permanent deformation, however, the excessive amount of nano materials in bitumen may result lower bitumen resistant to fatigue.

Low-noise pavements are used as an effective method of traffic noise mitigation. Low-noise pavements reduce the noise that arises due to interactions between tires and road surfaces (tire/road) via the implementation of three main components: low pavement roughness, negative pavement texture, and a high pavement air-void content. The tire/road noise reduction capabilities of the wearing layer vary depending on the aggregate type, gradation, bitumen and air-void content, and density. Consequently, the demand for an accurate tire/road noise prediction model has arisen from the design of asphalt mixtures. This paper deals with how asphalt mixture components of the wearing layer influence tire/pavement noise reduction and presents a model for tire/road noise level prediction based on the asphalt mixture composition. The paper demonstrates that the noise reduction level of low-noise asphalt pavements is dependent on the composition of the asphalt mixture. Asphalt wearing layer mixture composition parameters were tested in the laboratory from cores taken from 18 road sections, where acoustic properties were measured using a close-proximity (CPX) method. The proposed linear model is based on the bitumen amount, the air-void content of the mixture and aggregate shape and involves materials that comply with the general requirements for high-quality asphalt mixtures. The model allows for the prediction of the tire/road noise level at the asphalt mixture design stage using asphalt mixture components and volumetric properties. The proposed model is the first stage in the building of a complex model with a much wider range of low-noise asphalts components, pavement profile depth and CPX-value relationships., This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Civil Engineering: from Sustainable Materials to Sustainable Structures, This project has received funding from the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), agreement No S-MIP-17-137.

According to the European Asphalt Pavement Association, more than 90 per cent of the European road network is paved with asphalt. Constantly increasing traffic volume and climate change accelerate deterioration of current pavements. As a result, there arises a need to rehabilitate them prematurely. Repair and rehabilitation work lead to traffic congestion, which is one of the most significant concerns in highly trafficked roads and urban streets. Concrete modular pavements consisting of precast concrete slabs are a reasonable solution to deal with the road works since their construction, as well as repair, is time-saving. Repair works typically are implemented during a low traffic period (usually at night). A primary purpose of concrete modular pavements is heavily trafficked roads and other transport areas. This paper focuses on concrete modular pavements, their types, issues and challenges related to their design, slab fabrication and pavement construction. The conducted analysis revealed 15 different types of concrete modular pavements that differ from the techniques of slab joints and load transfer between the adjacent slabs. More than 20 issues and challenges related to the design of modular elements, slab fabrication and pavement construction were identified. Finally, the existing practice of concrete modular pavements was summarised and the gaps of scientific knowledge, as well as a need for comprehensive research, were defined.

This paper presents motivation and details on the development of an advanced shear tester (AST) device capable of investigating the response of 150-mm cylindrical specimens under constant normal stiffness (CNS) conditions. Based on the laboratory experience and field observations from the soil and rock engineering, CNS conditions are particularly desirable when the normal stress changes considerably during the shearing process. Such situations occur in asphalt pavement structures especially under certain loading configurations. The CNS conditions are complementary to the constant normal load conditions that are applied in the current shear-mode devices incorporated in testing of asphalt concrete (AC) and pavement interface properties. This paper demonstrates the complex state of stress in the upper AC layer of a typical pavement under moving truck wheel and shows the need for the CNS device. In addition to outlining unique AST design features, this paper presents also the verification effort conducted on ...

Surface temperature significantly affects the asphalt layers modulus and entire pavement structure responseto vehicles traffic loading. Because of the rheological properties of bitumen binders, the asphalt performs similarly totemperature-susceptible visco-elastic materials. The historical temperature data of local regions is necessary to designsustainable pavement structures. Likewise, the layers’ material mechanical properties determined at specific temperaturesis essential for proper design too. This paper presents an analysis of pavement surface temperature classificationresults. Data analysis covers temperature data from the Road Weather Information Stations from the past ten years. Ananalysis of various temperature profile forecast methods is presented, followed by a review of recent research on theimpact of temperature and cause of failure. Particular emphasis is laid on sorting the qualitative temperature data. Thecomplete linkage clustering method had been used for establishing the most similar pairs for classification. Accordingly,the territory of Lithuania was divided into three main regions with different pavement temperature distributionsfor each temperature interval. Temperature classification along these lines enables pavement responses to be estimatedover the pavement design life. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/enviro.2017.139

Asphalt pavements perform in a wide range of temperatures, especially in Eastern European countries, where the daily mean temperature of asphalt layers varies from −18 °C during winter to 47 °C during summer or even higher under more severe climatic conditions. Low temperatures preclude the use of high-stiffness binders because of their high susceptibility to thermal cracking. High temperatures during summer and a heavy static load contribution cause rutting, slippage, and high plastic deformation of heavy duty asphalt pavements. Many research programs on asphalt wearing layers affected by long-lasting high stress have been initiated to address this problem. Our theoretical analysis led to a plan and subsequent detailed laboratory research of modified AC 11 VS and SMA 11 S asphalt mixtures. We analyzed 11 different bitumens and the modification of the asphalt mixture aggregate distribution. The experimental results show extremely good rutting performance of the modified asphalt mixtures., This work was supported by the European Social Fund [Grant number VP1-3.1-ŠMM-10-V-02-022].

Pavements of aprons, container and logistic terminals, areas of storage, parking lots, areas of waste utilization are affected by high pressure static and impact loads. These loads strongly influence pavement performance by causing permanent deformations and distresses in the surface and even sometimes pavement failure in the beginning of pavement service. The types of structure, materials and layer thicknesses are the main factors relative to pavement performance. In order to correctly understand the particularity of static and impact loading, distresses of pavement structures affected by such load are emphasized, the load specification and climatic conditions influencing pavement performance are characterized. After analysis of the best practise, the flow chart of pavement structure design model was introduced. The paper gives reasonable pavement type and thickness determination dependent on object of application pavement structure.

Low noise asphalt pavements are cost efficient and cost effective alternative for road traffic noise mitigation comparing with noise barriers, facade insulation and other known noise mitigation measures. However, design of low noise asphalt mixtures strongly depends on climate and traffic peculiarities of different regions. Severe climate regions face problems related with short durability of low noise asphalt mixtures in terms of considerable negative impact of harsh climate conditions (frost-thaw, large temperature fluctuations, hydrological behaviour, etc.) and traffic (traffic loads, traffic volumes, studded tyres, etc.). Thus there is a need to find balance between mechanical and acoustical durability as well as to ensure adequate pavement skid resistance for road safety purposes. Paper presents analysis of the qualitative criteria and design parameters thresholds of low noise asphalt mixtures. Different asphalt mixture composition materials (grading, aggregate, binder, additives, etc.) and relevant asphalt layer properties (air void content, texture, evenness, degree of compaction, etc.) were investigated and assessed according their suitability for durable and effective low noise pavements. Paper concluded with the overview of requirements, qualitative criteria and thresholds for low noise asphalt mixture design for severe climate regions.

Permanent deformation in asphalt pavement structures is one of the main pavement distress problems. The common asphalt pavement surface deformations are shoving and rutting at intersections, bus stops and line, in heavy vehicle loaded urban streets, where it is acceleration, deceleration, slow moving or static loading. Considering the occurred asphalt pavement layer rutting can be described as wear, structural and flow rutting. Recently, was observed the increase in severity and extent of rutting (the depth is 40 mm and more) in asphalt pavement structures in Vilnius city high-streets, bus lines and stops. The purpose of this research was to establish probabilistic (rutted) pavement structures in Vilnius city and to suggest the best treatment solutions. It was found that in many cases the failure was caused by asphalt layers fatigue and low resistance to flow rutting.

The most researches are done for evaluation of dynamic load of vehicles on pavement response. However, pavements of airports, container terminals, logistic terminals, areas of storage, industrial areas, parking lots, areas operated by falling materials or special machinery and etc. are affected by long term static or impact load. Due to this kind of loading specificity, pavement performance is different comparing to pavement performance operated by repeating dynamic traffic loads. Practice shows, that permanent (plastic) deformations and thermal cracks often appear in such pavements. Consequently, the loading specification of areas affected by static and impact load, development of permanent deformations and thermal cracking and analysis of practice and normative requirements for pavements affected by static and impact load were considered in this research. The research has resulted in serviceable solutions for pavement structures resistant to static and impact loading according to the type of pavement (flexible, rigid, semi-rigid (flexible)) and the scope of application.

Environmental conditions (temperature, moisture, intensity of sun, etc.) influence variation in asphalt pavement strength during the year. Lithuania is situated in a zone of cool average climate characterized by average warm summers and average cold winters. One of the most important climatic factors is the air temperature variation per day. In order to evaluate the dependence of road pavement strength on temperature and the dependence of Eo modulus of separate layers on seasonal factors a comprehensive research was carried out on the unique Test Road section that was constructed in 2007 in Lithuania and is operated almost for 8 years. This road is affected by real climatic conditions and high intensity heavy vehicle traffic. It consists of 27 different flexible pavement structures with the same class of pavement structure but the different type and composition of materials and all necessary electronic sensors (loop profilers, temperature and moisture sensors, stress and strain transducers). Temperature and moisture sensors are installed in 4 different pavement structures. In order to analyse behaviour of asphalt pavement structure under Lithuanian climatic conditions, taking into account temperature and moisture, as one of the most important climatic factors influencing structural strength of road asphalt pavement, the experimental research was carried out and results are presented in the article.