International Conference on Road and Airfield Pavement Technology 2023

A development strategy of the “One Belt and One Road” has been initiated by China to increase the connection between China, Europe, and other Asian countries. Therefore, this project has to prepare the fundamental structures such as embankment, but location is abundant with suitably impervious materials, namely CL, GC, and SC. Also, an alternative is substitute clay with asphaltic concrete material which constructed faster and faster due to its significant advantages. The objective of study aims to review history, design, and construction for embankment by applying highway material which is asphaltic concrete. The study found the first asphaltic concrete core dam was in Germany in 1962, and nowadays constructed 196 dams. Especially 98 dams are in China, including the highest, the 198-meter Houziyan dam. Therefore, some knowledge of material characteristics is able to apply and to develop possible cases to further optimize the use of asphalt concrete in Thailand.

To study the variation of temperature field of cement concrete pavement on sunny days, the research was carried out based on the long-term monitoring data of test road. The sunny temperature data were screened by daily temperature amplitude and correlation coefficient. Taking the daily temperature change as the analysis unit and considering the annual cycle variation of the solar radiation angle, a sunny air temperature model was established. On this basis, considering the attenuation and hysteresis of heat transfer as well as the equilibrium of rising and cooling time along the road depth, the sunny temperature field model of cement concrete pavement was established. The results show that a statistical method based on the air temperature amplitude and correlation coefficient can effectively screen out sunny temperature data in measured data, and the road temperature field model established can accurately indicate the three-dimensional variation law of the temperature of cement concrete pavement with time and depth. The deviation analysis shows that the pavement temperature model reflects the diurnal and seasonal variation characteristics of the road temperature field. The research results can be used as the basis for the research on temperature fatigue stress of cement concrete pavement and the optimisation design of pavement structure.

Airport operating agencies primarily manage skid resistance on airport pavements by relying on mechanical measuring equipment to detect pavement friction levels and by predicting skid resistance trends based on past historical data. To provide an analytical tool for skid resistance management, a dynamic tire–fluid–pavement simulation model has been developed to predict skid resistance and hydroplaning speeds of aircraft tires under various operating conditions. Using a B777 running on an airport runway as an example, changes in friction levels after grooving, resurfacing, and a combination of resurfacing and grooving are analyzed. Based on FAA standard square grooves, the skid resistance performance and hydroplaning speeds of the B777 with various groove depths and widths are evaluated. It was found that groove width is more important than groove depth for ensuring effective pavement skid resistance performance. This analysis provides engineering validation for the FAA’s recommendation of using a 3 mm depth and width as a critical maintenance groove and highlights the advantages of pavement grooves in improving skid resistance. The method can quantitatively predict the skid resistance offered by airport pavement under different operating conditions, thereby enhancing runway excursion risk management.

Due to the increase in traffic volume and climatic changes, the road infrastructure is undergoing significant changes and challenges. As road network costs are primarily related to the deterioration of asphalt wearing layers, a comprehensive understanding of tire–pavement interaction is essential for optimizing asphalt pavement surface design. Currently, the majority of research on this interaction system is conducted in the frame of continuum mechanics, which is insufficient at capturing the discontinuity nature of asphalt mixtures. In this study, a coupling strategy incorporating finite element method (FEM) and discrete element method (DEM) was developed for the modeling of tire–pavement interaction, in which rolling tire loads derived from a FEM model were implemented into a DEM model of asphalt mixtures containing irregular particles. This FEM-DEM coupling algorithm allows the particle-scale analysis of asphalt mixture responses under realistic tire load conditions, which can provide insights for pavement surface design.

In road slopes, a landslide is the most serious geological hidden danger, and the strength loss of slope soil is one of the important factors causing a landslide. With the continuous progress of science and technology, cement-improved soil highlights its advantages in many road projects, its strength is far greater than the subgrade slope soil. In this paper, the cement-improved sandy silty soil in the Qinghai-Tibet mining area under cold conditions is taken as the research object. Based on the GeoStudio software model, the influence law of cement-improved sandy silty soil on subgrade slope is analyzed under different water content, different subgrade width, different subgrade height, different subgrade slope ratio, and different cement incorporation ratios. The results show that the water content of cement-improved soil increases from 13.0% to 18.0%, and the subgrade slope tends to be more stable. The larger the subgrade width, the smaller the subgrade height, and the smaller the subgrade slope ratio, the higher the stability of the subgrade slope. Among them, the cement-modified sandy silt with a 6% cement incorporation ratio is the best for the stability of the subgrade slope.

The dowel-bottom slot-type joint is widely used in precast concrete pavement, but its structure parameters are usually empirical. In view of that, this paper studies the structural parameters of the dowel-bottom slot-type joint based on mechanical response analysis. Firstly, the structural characteristics and basic parameters of the dowel-bottom slot-type joint are set forth. Then, the load transfer coefficient characterized by deflection and the deflection difference is selected to characterize the performance of the joint, and the finite element analysis is conducted to study the influence of the parameters of both the dowel bar and the bottom slot on the performance of the dowel-bottom slot-type joint. Besides, the variation of the stress at the dowel bar–slab interface is analyzed as well. Finally, considering the load transfer ability, the deformation coordination performance, and the stress condition, the structural parameters of the dowel-bottom slot-type joint are proposed. The research can promote the application of the dowel-bottom slot-type joint in the precast concrete pavement.

Deflection bowl parameter (DBP) offers an effective method to evaluate pavement structural strength based merely on deflection data collected from falling weight deflectometer (FWD) equipment. A new set of DBP thresholds was established using selected Singapore road network data, which is being validated in this study for practical implementation. From FWD data and DBP results, six coring locations were proposed to collect pavement layer thicknesses and sub-structural strength conditions. Back-calculation of layer moduli was conducted to cross-reference with DBP results. There is strong agreement between DBP results and back-calculated moduli of pavement layers across all parameters. In total, 22 out of 24 back-calculated moduli were validated by cross-reference with DBP results (or 91.7%). Therefore, using DBP method or back-calculated moduli is observed to be adequate, and the established DBP method is demonstrated to provide a quick and non-destructive check on pavement structural health at the network level.

Pavement pumping can significantly reduce the overall strength of pavements, even rigid or flexible pavements. The fine contents in the subbase material underneath the pavement slabs move up to the pavement surface through the cracks in the slabs due to pumping, resulting in the erosion of the subbase and decreased structural support. Pumping occurs when water that has accumulated underneath a slab is pressurized when the slab deflects under traffic loading. Therefore, the pore water pressure behavior in the granular subbase is an essential factor in clarifying the pumping mechanism. Model tests were conducted in this study to observe the pore water pressure behavior under various conditions. The model was a small-sized circular road simulator, consisting of a transparent cylindrical soil chamber made of acrylic, a transparent slab, and a rotational wheel loader. The slab had a single artificial joint in the radial direction simulating a pavement crack. The soil chamber had manometers equipped on the side wall to measure the pore water pressure in the ground. The experimental results showed that the excess pore water pressure generated under the load was greater at the leave slab side than at the approach slab side. It was also observed that the excess pore water pressure was larger in the case of a slower traveling speed, which implies that the larger slab deflection under slower loading resulted in larger excess pore water pressure.

Pavement grooving is an effective treatment to improve skid resistance and reduce crash rates on horizontal curves. However, besides experience-based guidelines, there is currently no mechanistic procedure that can quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of pavement grooving design in vehicle skidding prevention on wet horizontal curves. Therefore, this paper presented a computer simulation procedure to evaluate the relative effectiveness of pavement grooving in terms of their ability to reduce skidding potential on wet horizontal curves. The skidding potential reduction of a vehicle is represented by the increase of skid resistance and maximum safe vehicle speed. Both longitudinal and transverse grooves were studied, and three common groove dimensions were considered. Different operating conditions were represented by different values of pavement curve radii, superelevations, skid resistance states, and water-film thicknesses. This study concluded that longitudinal grooving was significantly more effective than transverse grooving in vehicle skidding prevention on wet horizontal curves, which was consistent with past observations and experimental results. The results provided respective improvement magnitudes in the skid resistance and the maximum safe vehicle speed of each groove design quantitatively. The proposed technique provides an analytical basis for pavement grooving design and maintenance management on horizontal curves.

Alkali-activated materials are significant functional materials widely utilized in industrial and technological sectors. They efficiently handle solid waste, reduce cement consumption, and play a crucial role in sustainable construction. However, due to their complex reaction mechanisms and differences from traditional cementitious materials, further research is necessary to explore optimal proportioning methods that fully harness their advantages. In this study, machine learning techniques were employed to rapidly and effectively design alkali-activated material mixtures. With a total of 47 samples, 27 were used for training and 20 for testing. The BP neural network model was optimized, and analysis using the random forest algorithm revealed that the CaO content contributes the most to compressive strength. This research provides novel insights and practical guidance for alkali-activated material proportioning, reducing experimental costs, and expanding the application of machine learning in the engineering field.

Greenhouse gas emissions are a major concern in sectors including industry, agriculture, and transportation. The main sources of carbon dioxide emissions are fossil fuel combustion and the utilization of secondary energy sources. The construction process of road engineering requires a substantial energy consumption. This stage plays a critical role in the transportation industry’s greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, necessitating intensified efforts to mitigate carbon emissions. This study provided a summary of the theoretical foundation, calculation methods, and selection of carbon emissions factors in asphalt pavement construction. Having comprehended the current environmental impact of asphalt pavement construction, the study summarized the principles and methods for quantitatively calculating carbon emissions in the future. The reduction of carbon emissions in road construction is highly significant.

As part of the nation’s goal to push towards circular economy, a field study was conducted to evaluate the use of recycled plastic waste in asphalt (RPWA) for road construction. A previous laboratory study has shown that recycled low density polyethylene (LDPE) showed a good potential to be used in asphalt with high rutting resistance and stiffness which are ideal properties for the hot climate in Singapore. To verify the performance of RPWA, a field study was conducted to monitor and evaluate its engineering properties under actual traffic and weather conditions. Two test sections of RPWA and conventional asphalt (control) were constructed at a specified location which is subjected to heavy traffic. The monitoring was conducted on the test sections to evaluate the road performance with respect to rut depth, road roughness, and skid resistance before and after the construction. The results showed there were no significant differences between the control and RPWA sections over a period of 9 months and the test parameters also meets the regulatory requirements.

SBS modified asphalt is an important material to improve the quality of high-grade pavements and airport runways, it will deteriorate during the service life due to a combination of environmental factors leading to pavement disease which triggers the maintenance and reconstruction. In this process, an amount of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) will be produced. For environment protection and resource reservation, RAP is usually regenerated by a rejuvenator. In this paper, reactive rejuvenators were prepared by epoxy compounds for regenerating aged SBS modified asphalt (A-SBSMA), and the changes in physical properties, rheological properties, chemical structure, and microscopic morphology of the regeneration of A-SBSMA before and after were investigated to evaluate the regeneration effect. Compared with traditional rejuvenators, the significant effect of reactive rejuvenators on the recovery of physical properties and rheological properties of A-SBSMA. By FTIR and microscopic morphology analysis, reactive rejuvenator can better recover the functional group species, broken SBS molecular structure, and network structure of A-SBSMA.

Steel slag is a green low-carbon building material, and it has been widely used in the construction of road projects in recent years. Steel slag asphalt mixture can self-heal to a certain extent while not bearing external load. To investigate the influence of different healing efficiency on the performance of steel slag asphalt mixture, a discrete element simulation model was established based on the CT scanning image processing method in this study. The load response of steel slag asphalt mixture specimens with different healing efficiency (80%, 60%, 40%, 20%) was analyzed, and the number and behavior of cracks at different healing efficiency were tracked. The results showed that the load displacement curve obtained from the virtual discrete element simulation was in good agreement with the load displacement curve obtained from the semicircular bending test. With the decrease of healing efficiencies, the ultimate load and fatigue life of the semi-circular specimen decreased and the number of cracks increased gradually. When the load reaches the ultimate bearing capacity, the crack grew rapidly, and the number of cracks grew slowly after this period.

It is known that the strength and stiffness of unbound base and subbase layers prepared with recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) increase over time, known as self-cementing properties of RCA. However, the influence of self-cementing properties on the permanent and resilient deformation behavior has not been thoroughly studied. In this study, the permanent and resilient deformation behavior of two RCA, ORCA and NRCA (old and fresh crushed RCA), after different curing times (1, 180, 360, and 720 days), were investigated by conducting a series of repeated load triaxial tests. The results show that the permanent deformation of NRCA, crushed recently, decreases to a negligible value after curing 180 days, and then reaches a constant value. While the resilient modulus of NRCA increases steadily with curing time till the studied curing time (720 days). Besides, the long-term storage reduces the self-cementing properties of ORCA. As a result, the negligible self-cementing properties have no influence on the permanent and resilient deformation behavior of ORCA.

The use of recycled plastics in asphalt industry has been popular due to environmental and economic benefits. Recycled plastics can enhance the performance and durability of bitumen. Previous study has shown that partial replacement of SBS (styrene-butadiene-styrene) using recycled plastics in SBS modified bitumen can reduce the dynamic viscosity and improve its stress sensitivity as compared to conventional SBS modified bitumen. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of long-term ageing on the fatigue properties of SBS modified binder containing recycled plastics. Extended long-term ageing was conducted via the rolling thin film oven (RTFO) and pressurized ageing vessel (PAV) on SBS modified binders with different proportions and types of recycled plastics which include LDPE (low density polyethylene) and HDPE (high density polyethylene). After ageing, the fatigue performance of the binders was analyzed with respect to dynamic shear modulus (DSR). Results showed that the recycled plastics showed good potential to be used as partial replacement of SBS in SBS-modified binders in terms of its fatigue performance under long term ageing.

Ungrooved stone mastic asphalt (SMA) is an attractive alternate to grooved dense graded asphalt (DGA) for runway surfacing. Laboratory and field trials have demonstrated the comparable mechanical properties of SMA, but no comparison of the age-related weathering, which often triggers runway resurfacing, has been performed. This research compared the ageing of SMA to otherwise identical DGA, over 98 days of accelerated ageing in the laboratory. The surface texture and modulus of the mixture samples were compared, as well as extracted binder rheology, composition, and chemistry. It was concluded that binder properties were unable to reflect the benefit of the greater binder volume associated with different mixture types. Similarly, the ageing profile of the mixture samples complicates comparison of the modulus of the samples. Overall, it was concluded that SMA is expected to last approximately 4 years longer as a runway surface, compared to equivalent DGA.

Foamed bitumen stabilisation is an attractive approach to sustainable and resilient pavement rehabilitation, particularly in areas that are level constrained or require expedient construction. However, the absence of an airport-specific specification has limited its adoption by Australian airports. To address this, a specification was developed that is outcome focused, provides maximum flexibility, covers both in situ and ex situ production methods, as well as paver placement and/or grader finishing of foam bitumen stabilised materials. The specification used local road specifications as the model. A pilot project was then performed to verify the draft specification. The pilot project identified challenges associated with surveying for layer thickness calculation, compacted density requirements, bitumen and cementitious binder content tolerances, extracted bitumen content measurement, and the basis of geometric design. The adjusted specification is now available for use and will promote sustainable, resilient, and efficient airport pavement construction and rehabilitation in Australia.

To investigate the impact of fly ash size and content on power consumption and carbon emissions, an analysis was conducted to assess their influence on the optimal asphalt content. The study employed the quota method and carbon emissions factor method to evaluate carbon emissions and power consumption. Carbon emissions were calculated for mixtures with varying bottom ash ratios. The findings indicate that the size and content of ash can affect carbon emissions during the production stage, primarily through the release of carbon dioxide. As the ash content increased, production power consumption gradually decreased, leading to a decline in carbon emissions. The influence of ash particle size was found to be dependent on its content. For ash contents below or equal to 20%, larger particle size ash effectively reduced power consumption and carbon emissions. However, as the content continued to increase, ash with a medium particle size demonstrated better carbon benefits. These research findings can be a significant guidance for asphalt pavement design and serve as a valuable reference for controlling carbon emissions.

This article proposes to use steel slag instead of some coarse aggregate to prepare asphalt mixture to improve the performance of airport asphalt pavement. The physical and mechanical properties of steel slag and diabase aggregates were compared and analyzed. The microscopic morphology and pore structure characteristics of steel slag and diabase were tested and analyzed by SEM and MIP. The high-temperature stability of steel slag asphalt mixture was studied by rutting test. The low-temperature crack resistance performance of steel slag asphalt mixture was evaluated using dual indicators of failure strain and bending stiffness modulus. The water stability of steel slag asphalt mixture was studied through freeze–thaw splitting test combined with pull-out test; the improvement mechanism of road performance was analyzed from a microscopic perspective. The research results indicate that steel slag can be used as coarse aggregate for airport asphalt pavement. The optimal ratio of steel slag to asphalt mixture is 50%. Steel slag asphalt mixture can significantly improve the high-temperature resistance to rutting of airport asphalt pavement, improve the low-temperature cracking resistance and water stability of the pavement. The good road performance of steel slag asphalt mixture may be attributed to the unique microstructure and the chemical reactions between steel slag and asphalt.

Aiming at the current situation that the highway milepost and geodetic coordinates matching methods are less intelligent and less accurate, resulting in the efficiency and accuracy of the milepost matching methods cannot meet the requirements of practical applications, this paper applies centimeter-level combined inertial navigation system and binocular camera to collect road spatial information and image data, adopts trajectory planning method and image recognition technology for data analysis, and obtains continuous collection trajectory. Based on the principle of 3D scene restoration by binocular stereo vision, this paper proposes a method to obtain the geographic coordinates of mileage stakes through the parallel view of stake number plate and realizes the high accuracy and fast matching of highway mileage stakes and geodetic coordinates. The experimental results show that the method can better achieve the rapid matching of highway mileage stakes and geodetic coordinates, and the average accuracy of stakes matching reaches the decimeter level, which can meet the requirements of most current application scenarios.

Recent research studies have revealed that all road pavements exhibit directionality in their skid resistance. Field measurements confirmed that at any point along a pavement wheel path, the skid resistance in the forward and backward directions were significantly different. Such differences are caused by the directional polishing effect of vehicular traffic flow. Along a straight tangent road section, the relative magnitudes of directional skid resistance at any given point vary with the degree of traffic polishing. The higher the degree of polishing, the large is the difference between the forward and backward skid resistance. Such differences in the directional skid resistance is also dependent on the mode of vehicle movements. In a case where traffic flow is dominated by acceleration mode of vehicle movements, the skid resistance would be higher than the backward skid resistance. On the other hand, in a case where traffic flow is dominated by deceleration mode of vehicle movements, the skid resistance would be lower than the backward skid resistance. It is illustrated in our analysis that the differences in directional skid resistance could have major impacts on the results of road safety analysis, especially for the calculation of braking distances and geometric design of stopping sight distance. In particular, it has significant implications on safety analysis of the safe sight distances for the design of road intersections, and safe design of weaving sections along expressways.

The seismic behavior of composite beam cable-stayed bridges, a competitive bridge type in long-span bridges, is increasingly valued in high-intensity seismic zones. In this paper, a long-span composite cable-stayed bridge is taken as the research object. Two kinds of finite element models considering pile–soil interaction and not considering have been established, respectively, and the elastoplastic dynamic time-history analysis based on plastic hinges has been carried out. The results show that the pile–soil interaction greatly influences the displacement response and internal force response of the cable-stayed bridge. The pile–soil interaction should be considered in the design and analysis. Furthermore, the analysis of the parameters of fluid viscous dampers between towers and beams has been presented, and the results are compared with those without dampers. The results show that fluid viscous dampers can significantly improve the longitudinal seismic behavior of cable-stayed bridges, and different damper parameters have a greater impact on the seismic response of bridges.

A study has been carried out using traffic speed deflectometer (TSD) on a runway pavement and it was a pioneering test involving TSD and heavy weight deflectometer (HWD) in Australia. The research studied the characteristics of the velocity slopes of the deflected runway pavement generated from the TSD device. The main objective is to examine the deflection trends generated by TSD and heavy weight deflectometer (HWD) and to establish a correlation between the two devices. TSD was carried out with a 10-tonnes axle load and tyre contact pressure of 760 kPa. The HWD was carried out at an impact test load of 150 kN and the deflections were normalized to impact load of 103 kN at contact stress of 1,450 kPa. Consistent trend lines and pattern of variability of the TSD and HWD deflections were observed along the runway. The TSD and HWD clearly identified the peak and low deflection points at the various sections of the runway. However, the TSD deflections are observed to be lower than the HWD deflection. The key finding from the study indicates that the deflection measurements of the TSD would have to be adjusted by factor of about 3.6 for it to be consistent with the HWD deflection.

Tire-road friction coefficient (TRFC) characterizes the interaction of the vehicle with the road and is closely related to driving safety. In this study, speed management of vehicles traveling on road sections with a sudden change in TRFC was proposed. Above all, fuzzy inference system (FIS) was adopted for detailed TRFC calculations of various pavement conditions (material type, pavement humidity, vehicle load) based on the aggregated data for various methods for measuring TRFC and calculating TRFC. Then combined with TRFC, the stopping sight distance (SSD) model, and the driver reaction time, the relationship between TRFC and the design speed was deduced. Furthermore, principles of vehicle dynamics were carried out to derive the speed adjustment distance required for the vehicle to travel on different road connection sections. It was found that design speed and TRFC were positively correlated. In addition, TRFC was positively correlated with vehicle load and negatively correlated with surface moisture. The length of the transition section was related to the pavement type and the connection sequence of the pavement junctions. The greater the performance differences between the two pavements, the longer the transition length should be required. Finally, the co-simulation of Carsim and Simulink verified the feasibility of speed management which was well suited to vehicle dynamics.

The evaluation of pavement smoothness and the calculation of smoothness index require the pavement profile. Among the techniques to obtain the profile, those with high profile accuracy are poor in efficiency; those with high profile efficiency is poor in accuracy. Furthermore, if the correct three-dimensional profile of the overall pavement can be obtained by photogrammetry, the smoothness can be assessed in a more comprehensive and efficient manner. This study reviewed smoothness measurement and digital surface models (DSM), and developed an intelligent road survey vehicle (IRSV). Firstly, a 100-m standard section was established by road and level. Then, the developed IRSV was driven to obtain images of the overall pavement within the three-lane width range including the left and right lanes of the vehicle’s lane. After dense point-cloud matching of the images, a DSM was obtained. Three survey profiles of the standard section were extracted from the DSM, and ProVAL 3.60 was used to calculate the international roughness index (IRI) of these three survey profiles. Then, an institution accredited by Taiwan Accreditation Foundation used a walking profiler to obtain the profiles and IRIs for the three survey profiles for comparison purposes. The findings show that the ability of the IRSV to obtain the pavement profile is successfully verified.

Silty soil is widely distributed in some areas of China. Due to its low cohesion and poor water retention, if it is used as the subgrade soil, the compaction degree as the compaction control index, after the subgrade forming, it is prone to collapse in the rainy season. In order to ensure the strength and water stability of the silty soil subgrade, it is proposed to use the air void ratio as the silty soil subgrade compaction control index. This research takes the widely distributed low liquid limit silty sand soil in Shanxi Province as the research object. CBR test, resilience modulus test, and direct shear test were carried out. Through laboratory tests and field verification, it is concluded that air void ratio is more reasonable as a control index for silty soil subgrade compaction, and 12% air void ratio can be used as the compaction control index in this area. It not only ensures that the compacted soil has a large dry density, but also can control the water content of the soil.

In this study, the existing methods for calculating energy consumption and carbon emissions are reviewed. Afterwards, a generalized life cycle approach is proposed to calculate carbon emissions and energy consumption of asphalt pavement by considering the maintenance and repair processes. Besides, by taking into account of the differences in maintenance methods that affect the road life, annual carbon emissions and energy consumption are suggested as metrics for the measurement of carbon emissions and energy consumption. On this basis, 12 projects with different road surface structures and regions are uniformly selected nationwide. This study deeply explores the energy consumption and carbon emissions of asphalt pavement from the impacts of calculation boundary, environment, construction, and energy-saving and emissions-reduction technology impacts. According to the results, annual energy consumption and carbon emissions of asphalt pavement are greatly affected in the maintenance and repair process, with the maximum annual differences of 37% and 41%, respectively. As indicated by the Spearman correlation analysis road surface structure has a remarkable impact on energy consumption and carbon emissions, and reasonable road surface design should be emphasized in the future road design. Furthermore, by comparing with the hot mix asphalt technology, the emulsified asphalt cold recycling technology can decrease energy consumption and carbon emissions by at least 50%. This study provides theoretical support for the future asphalt pavement structure design, as well as the emissions reduction technology promotion and application of the emissions reduction technology.

Porous pavements are a desirable form of pavement construction because of its positive environmental effects. Unfortunately, the porosity of porous pavements during service will decrease due to clogging, resulting in a shortened functional life. Hence, it is crucial to ensure its surface infiltration capacity during the useful service life by regular cleaning. Currently, no established test method is available to evaluate the long-term infiltration performance of porous asphalt pavements against clogging, and the effectiveness of maintenance cleaning. To have a better understanding of effects of clogging and maintenance cleaning, the present study proposed a laboratory procedure for evaluating changes in permeability of different porous asphalt mixtures during clogging and maintenance cleaning. The permeability k of a mixture was adopted as the measure of its performance and a basis of assessing the effects of cleaning. The experimental program considered three target porosity levels (15%, 20%, and 25%) and three maintenance thresholds (50% initial permeability, 25% initial permeability, and 0.3 mm/s). The test results showed that larger porosity mixtures can provide higher initial permeability, reduced maintenance work, and ensure higher permeability level over its entire service life. The results also indicated that a higher cleaning activation threshold could maintain the infiltration capacity of porous pavement at a higher level over the entire pavement service life, although it increased the cleaning frequency.

With the social economy gradual transforming to green and sustainable, the odor pollution in the process of road asphalt paving has become an environmental problem that cannot be ignored. In this study, GC-MS and gas detector are used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of volatile compounds produced by five asphalt materials. On this basis, combined with the odor threshold, the odor activity value (OAV) of each compound is calculated, and the odor of asphalt is analyzed by the method of the sum of odor activity value (SOAV), and the odor contribution of each compounds is classified according to the chemical properties to find the rule of odor contribution between each group. The results show that the main contribution groups of odor activity value of asphalt volatiles are alkanes, aldehydes, benzene series, and hydrogen sulfide. The evaluation process can be simplified on the basis of the existing odor evaluation: the concentration of each group is measured, and the sum value of the odor activity values of various asphaltenes is calculated by combining the odor threshold of each compound. Among them, the odor threshold of hydrogen sulfide does not need to be analyzed and can be obtained. Therefore, the odor threshold of alkanes, aldehydes, and benzene series in volatile compounds of different kinds of asphalt materials is further calculated, and the group odor threshold of three kinds of groups is finally determined. After determining the group odor threshold of the three types of groups, combining the concentration of alkanes, aldehydes, benzene series, and hydrogen sulfide, the sum value of the activity value of various asphalt odor is calculated and the error analysis is conducted with the measured value. It is verified that the odor characteristics of different kinds of asphalt can be analyzed by the simplified evaluation method of asphalt odor characteristics.

The “Guiding Opinions on the Comprehensive Utilization of Bulk Solid Waste during the 14th Five-Year Plan” issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in 2021 points out that by 2021, the accumulated stockpile of bulk solid waste in China will be about 60 billion tonnes, while there are problems of low solid waste utilization, occupying large amounts of land resources and potential ecological and environmental hazards. In order to further improve the utilization rate of solid waste, reduce the cost of road construction and reduce the damage and impact of solid waste accumulation on the environment. In this paper, author analyze the influence of the admixture of coal gangue and waste plastics on the performance of asphalt permeability, softening point and ductility, as well as on the high-temperature stability, low-temperature crack resistance and water stability of asphalt mixtures, summarizing and evaluating the microscopic modification mechanism and other aspects.

The asphalt pavement disease-prone area refers to the areas where diseases such as ruts, cracks, and other diseases are prone to occur due to traffic channelization, repeated braking and stopping of vehicles at urban intersection, and the performance of asphalt pavement in this area is often poor. Taking several typical intersections in Changsha urban area as the research object, the multi-functional road condition rapid detection device was used to detect the outer second lane of each driving direction of intersection, and the pavement indexes including pavement surface condition index (PCI), pavement riding quality index (RQI), pavement rutting depth index (RDI), pavement surface wearing index (PWI), pavement bumping index (PBI), etc. were obtained with 10 m as the unit. The 35 sets of data obtained were normalized and analyzed in correlation. The pavement maintenance quality index (PQI) was calculated, and the probability distribution model was used to study the range of disease-prone area at urban intersection. The results show that all pavement indexes in the range of intersection decrease significantly. The length of the disease-prone area of the upstream lane of the stop line is significantly greater than that of the downstream lane. RDI has the strongest correlation with other indexes, and rutting is the most important disease form of asphalt pavement at intersection. The PQI conforms to the characteristics of Gumbel distribution model within the range of intersection. The PQI at 7.44 m away from the stop line of the upstream lane obtains a minimum value, and the maximum value of PQI is obtained at infinite distance from the stop line. The area in the first 40 m and back 125 m of the stop line can be identified as the disease-prone area.

Intelligent maintenance is a new management mode, and highway maintenance design is an important part of intelligent maintenance. Based on the study of road maintenance design, this paper proposes to restore the current situation of the road in high definition based on GIS platform carrying road image data, display various data in a hierarchical visual state, develop functions such as measurement, annotation, statistics, and conversion of output data files, so as to provide more discriminative basis for designers. It provides a new auxiliary decision-making method for the maintenance unit, and provides a new technical support for the process implementation of the construction unit. The results show that the visual auxiliary system for highway maintenance design provides a new solution to solve the problem that designers frequently go to the site survey, improves the safety of investigators, the design basis is richer in the visual state, the disease display content is more, and the design scheme is more consistent with the actual situation. It provides an auxiliary means for the decision making of the maintenance unit. The design scheme review is visualized, and the decision scheme is more accurate. The construction scheme is more targeted to the site, which improves the construction efficiency, reduces the construction cost, and lays the foundation for the whole process of digital construction.

The British pendulum test (BPT) is used worldwide for field and laboratory testing of pavement skid resistance. Due to its widespread use by engineers in many countries and agencies, it is important to ensure that the BPT measurements, reported as British pendulum number (BPN), made by different parties using different units of BPT device can be compared directly. The traditional method only considers adjusting the calibration results of a single BPT device within the limits allowed by the standard to ensure the accuracy for BPT measurements. There is a lack of consideration for the comparability of measurements between different BPT devices with different operating parameter values. To overcome this problem, two new indicators obtained through conversion procedures for BPT measurements are proposed in this paper, namely the theoretical coefficient of friction and the virtual BPN corresponding to the preset standard operating parameter values. First, the common basis for both two approaches is to establish a finite element simulation model of the BPT test process. Then, by means of computer simulation analysis of the skid resistance test processes of different BPT units, the proposed procedure is able to convert BPT measurements by different BPT units to two new indicators. Four BPT units from different laboratory and four specimens including different combinations of macro and micro textures were used to verify the two proposed procedures. The practical results show that the two new indicators obtained by both conversion procedures can reduce the fluctuation of BPT measurements to enhance the comparability between different BPT devices. The proposed procedure can be applied to measurements by any BPT unit without any changes to the current BPT calibration facility and process.

In order to recover the skid resistance of asphalt pavement of expressway, the old mixture layer 1.5 cm below the road surface was replaced by the ultra-thin wearing course modified with high strength and toughness additive (STC). Firstly, the mix ratio design of STC-8 wearing course mixture was carried out, and the mixture performance of STC-8 mixture was analyzed. Then, according to the replacement depth, the specific technical scheme of STC-8 wearing course was put forward. The construction technology of STC-8 wearing course was introduced, and the application effect was verified by the engineering practice. For the STC-8 mixture, the dynamic stability was more than 10,000 cycles/mm at high temperature of 60℃, and the bending failure strain exceeded 2,800 με at low temperature of minus 10℃, also showing excellent anti-aging and freeze–thaw resistance. The strength and toughness of STC-8 mixture was outstanding. After paving STC-8 wearing course, the texture depth of road surface was more than 0.6 mm, and the British pendulum number (BPN) of road surface was more than 80. The skid resistance of road surface was effectively recovered by paving STC-8 wearing course. The STC wearing course can be used as a potential technical measure to recover the skid resistance of road surface.

With the increasing service life of highways, pavement diseases, especially asphalt road cracks are becoming more serious. To detect asphalt pavement cracks quickly and accurately, the application of deep learning has long been a question of great interest in this field. However, existing methods have disadvantages such as slow processing of images, low accuracy, and lack of evaluation of pavement conditions. In this study, a pavement damage detection and evaluation system based on deep learning is constructed, which can quickly and accurately complete the detection and segmentation of cracks and evaluate the degree of pavement damage. Based on the pre-prepared training set, a YOLOv5-based asphalt pavement crack object detection model and a U-net-based asphalt pavement crack semantic segmentation model are trained respectively, and their effectiveness is verified on the test set. In the training, the training set is preprocessed using a combination of different image enhancement methods including histogram equalization, image sharpening, and denoising, then compared by recognition results. Based on the identification results of the above two models, the area of crack is estimated and the damage degree of the pavement is evaluated by the pavement condition index from Highway Performance Assessment Standard (JTG 5210-2018). The results showed that the method performed well in crack detection and segmentation, with 80.2% mAP and 49.3% MioU, and provided a quantitative estimate of pavement condition.

Asphalt pavement has the potential ability of micro-crack self-healing during the rest periods, and temperature is the main influencing factor. In order to reveal the effect of changing temperature on the self-healing performance of asphalt micro-cracks by microwave heating, the crack models of asphalt binder consisting of three and four components were constructed and the molecular dynamics (MD) method was used to analyze the diffusion performance of the asphalt crack under the conditions of constant temperature and changing temperature. The mean square displacement was analyzed by the density change curve and the diffusion coefficient was obtained through determining the number of frames when the crack was self-healed. The results show that under the same temperature parameter simulation conditions, both the three and four component asphalt crack models healing efficiency of asphalt micro-cracks was the best under the constant high temperature of 373 K, followed by the changing temperature from 303 K to 373 K, and healing efficiency under the constant low temperature of 303 K was the lowest. The diffusion coefficient in the changing temperature is close to the diffusion coefficient at a constant high temperature, which is reasonably close to the self-healing efficiency of both. The improved simulation method can better describe the diffusion ability of asphalt cracks under the effect of temperature change, and provide a theoretical basis for microwave heating to promote the asphalt crack self-healing.

Human slipping on pedestrian pavements and other forms of paved areas is a problem worthy of great attention. Many countries have put forward test methods for assessing pedestrian slip resistance performance of pavements and floors. The British pendulum test (BPT) is one of the most common form of devices used for the purpose around the world to determine the slip resistance, and British pendulum number (BPN) is one of the most important parameters for pedestrian pavement safety evaluation. Although widely used as a form of measure of the slip resistance of a test surface, BPN is numerically not equal to 100 times the dynamic coefficient of friction (COF) of the test surface. It is difficult to directly compare and convert BPN and COF. The relationship between BPN and COF is nonlinear and would vary according to the slider force–deflection characteristics of the BPT device concerned. In practice, different units of BPT device would most likely have different slider force–deflection characteristics, and there will be a large deviation between the measurement results of different BPT devices. In this study, a numerical simulation model of BPT based on mechanical theory is proposed, which can convert the measured BPN values into the COF of the test surface to mechanically characterize the slip resistance of the flooring material. By so doing, the problem that the BPN measurements of different BPT devices vary with the force–deflection characteristics of the slider of the BPT device can be effectively solved.

The three components of project management triangle are time, cost, and quality. Every party involved in the construction projects strives to balance these components. In some operational areas like airports, ports, bus depots, and other cargo areas, time is the critical factor because many of these areas could not afford to have long period of downtime for construction works. The aim of this research is to determine the advantages of fast set concrete in reparation and reinstatement works in terms of time, cost, and quality. In this study, rapid setting patch cement was used to produce fast set concrete. Despite fast set concrete may not be the newest technology in construction industry, the recommended thickness of fast set concrete is limited up to 75 mm only. With the persistence of our research engineers and assistance from our suppliers, we made a breakthrough by manipulating the design mix and allow the fast set concrete to remain its optimum performance with thickness up to 400 mm. This design mix ratio was applied to a fast set concrete project in Singapore Changi Airport and the project was successfully completed with minimal disruption to airport operations. In terms of quality and time, the fast set concrete could achieve initial compressive strength more than 40 MPa at 3 hours and the strength was increasing gradually with time. The reconstruction works were completed during midnights or off-peak closures and caused zero downtime to Changi Airport operations. In the aspect of cost, despite the material cost of fast set concrete is relatively higher than conventional concretes, the overall cost of the construction work of fast set concrete is lower than conventional concretes as it eliminated the downtime and disruptions to the operation areas.

The crack initiation behavior of asphalt binders plays a significant role in the evolution of fatigue damage. In this study, the crack initiation process of asphalt binders is characterized by employing Griffith’s energy balance principles and the surface energy theory. The localized energy redistribution caused by crack initiation is quantified. A prediction model of crack initiation length is developed based on the asphalt crack initiation criterion. The effect of fatigue loading amplitude and the testing temperature in the progression of crack initiation are further investigated. The results show that the fatigue damage process of asphalt in the time sweep test consists of two stages: crack initiation and “factory-roof” cracking. The material-dependent parameters can be utilized to predict the crack initiation length at different strain levels. The fatigue crack initiation life of asphalt binders is decreased with a greater strain level. However, the crack initiation resistance of the asphalt is enhanced by the decrease of testing temperature.

In this study, orthogonal tests are used to investigate the effects of three indicators, namely the type of emulsified asphalt fog seal, the types of sand, the number of sprinklings, the strength of the fog seal itself, the adhesion strength of the emulsified asphalt sand fog seal to the asphalt pavement and the aggregate, respectively, using wet track abrasion, pull-out strength test, and adhesion performance test. In the multi-indicator coupling analysis, the comprehensive performance of the emulsified asphalt sand fog seal is best under the three levels of EAFS-3, diamond sand, and sprinkling once or sprinkling twice. By testing the road performance of the test road surface of the emulsified asphalt sand fog seal before and after maintenance, we obtained that the designed emulsified asphalt sand fog seal has better water permeability and skid resistance.

Road temperature-regulating phase change materials (PCM) can reduce the impact of high temperatures on asphalt pavements in summer. In this study, a PCM/SBS-modified composite asphalt was produced by melt blending of paraffin/expanded graphite/high-density polyethylene composite-shaped phase change materials (PHDP) and SBS-modified asphalt. Then the physical property tests and rheological property tests were conducted. The result showed that compared to SBS-modified asphalt without PHDP, PHDP/SBS-modified composite asphalt had decreased consistency and temperature sensitivity, but increased low-temperature performance. The rotary viscosity, zero shear viscosity, and complex modulus of PHDP/SBS modified composite asphalt decreased with the increase of the content, but the phase angle was improved. Therefore, the deformation resistance of PHDP/SBS-modified composite asphalt was reduced but the fatigue performance was improved. Due to it containing polymeric structures, PHDP/SBS-modified composite asphalt still has good rutting resistance and elastic recovery ability at 64°C. This study can provide some reference value for the application of PCMs in high-performance pavement.

In order to achieve carbon-neutral pavements, this study investigated the practical application of the bio-asphalt mixture using kraft lignin derivatives to replace a portion of the asphalt binder. The lignin used in this study is a by-product of the paper-making process. When the lignin-based asphalt with 35% volume replacement of the binder with lignin is applied, the CO₂ emissions from the manufacturing of bio-asphalt mixture may be theoretically reduced by 96.6% compared to that of the conventional asphalt mixture. Currently, the laboratory experiments demonstrated the bio-asphalt mixture using 10% volume replacement of the binder with lignin had properties which were equivalent to conventional asphalts. In particular, replacing 10% volume of the binder with lignin may improve the rutting resistance and the fatigue resistance of the mixture. Furthermore, the field verification of the bio-asphalt mixture was conducted on a road with heavy vehicles, and the mixture showed excellent performance in serviceability.

Asphalt mixture is widely used in the field of pavement construction owing to its excellent road performance. However, under the condition of ultraviolet (UV) light and other factors, it is easy for asphalt to age, then the service life of asphalt would be reduced. In order to increase durability of pavement for long-life road application, it is vital to improve UV anti-aging properties of asphalt. Lignosulfonate (LS) is a by-product of chemical industry, which has excellent UV absorbing ability owing to the benzene ring structure. Through melt blending, LS was added into asphalt, and the effect on anti-UV aging properties were researched by physical properties. The results showed that the rangeabilities of physical properties of LS modified asphalt (LMA) were smaller than pristine asphalt (PA), which demonstrated that LS was an ideal additive for enhancing anti-UV property of asphalt observably.

This study investigates the effects of waste latex rubber gloves (WLRG) on bitumen’s physical and thermal characteristics. The study modifies 60/70 penetration grade bitumen with varying percentages of 3%, 5%, 7%, and 9% of WLRG in high shear mixer at 150°C to determine the appropriate WLRG percentage for achieving the required specifications based on the penetration, softening point, and ductility tests. This study also performs thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to analyse the thermal characteristics of WLRG particles in the modified bitumen. The TGA graph showed that the mass loss of 3, 5, 7, and 9% WLRG-modified bitumen occurred at 457.5, 464.3, 462.2, and 459.5°C. The DSC graph reveals the melting point for the binders modified with 3, 5, 7, and 9% WLRG are 133.6, 132.1, 103.5, and 133.2°C. The results show that the optimum WLRG-modified bitumen is 5 and 7% by weight of bitumen. Asphalt pavements modified with 5 and 7% WLRG showed maximum benefits and the ability to prevent road surface deformation, including when subjected to high traffic loads. In conclusion, WLRG is a suitable bitumen modifier because it enhances bitumen’s characteristics and performance.

As a new type of pavement paving material, the research of polyurethane mixture is becoming a hot spot in the industry. To further promote the application of polyurethane mixture in pavement engineering, an overview of polyurethane binders was first provided in this research, then the key factors affecting the road performance of polyurethane mixture are determined based on the existing research data. The research results suggest that the performance of polyurethane binders can be widely adjusted by controlling the types of soft and hard segments, microphase separation structure, and curing process. But their influences on the adhesion between polyurethane binders and aggregates, retention time, and other key workability are not yet clear. The mechanical properties and temperature stability of polyurethane mixture are significantly better than that of asphalt mixtures, but easily affected by aggregate gradation, curing method, and binder–aggregate ratio. The hydrolysis resistance and freeze–thaw resistance performances of polyurethane mixture still need to be further strengthened.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have adverse effects on the environment and human health. SBS modified asphalt mixture releases a large amount of VOCs during construction under high-temperature conditions. In this study, the effect of activated carbon on the road performance and VOCs emissions behavior of SBS modified asphalt mixture was comprehensively investigated. The inhibition of VOCs in asphalt mixture was analyzed in three levels of total concentration—group concentration—component concentration by GC-MS. The results indicate that activated carbon can improve the water stability of asphalt mixtures, while it has adverse effects on high-temperature stability and low-temperature crack resistance. Activated carbon can effectively inhibit VOCs emissions from asphalt mixtures. The inhibition rate of VOCs increases with the rising content of activated carbon. The total VOCs concentration of SBS modified asphalt mixture is reduced by 46.4% with the addition of 5% activated carbon. Activated carbon can effectively suppress most of the groups and components in VOCs, but it also shows a certain degree of selectivity. Aldehydes and formaldehyde are the group and component with the highest content in VOCs that can be effectively controlled, their concentration is decreased by 51% and 62% with the addition of activated carbon. However, the concentration of some groups and components increases with the addition of 3% activated carbon, such as olefins and cyclopentane, while the emissions of these groups and components can be inhibited with the addition of 5% activated carbon. Activated carbon has a certain negative effect on the inhibition of some groups and components, such as aromatic hydrocarbons and benzene. On the whole, SBS modified asphalt mixture containing 5% activated carbon has better comprehensive performance through multi-objective optimization evaluation of environmental and technical performance, which can meet the road performance requirements and show the best VOCs suppression effect.

Low-temperature phase-change microcapsules (MPCMs) are environmentally friendly materials that have been used as a modifier for improving the low-temperature performance of asphalt binder. However, there are some problems with the production and application of MPCMs, i.e., difficult preparation procedures and undefined effects on the properties of asphalt binder. In this study, the impact of resin-shell material synthetic melamine–urea–formaldehyde and core materials n-tetradecane on the properties of MPCMs and corresponding modified binders have been investigated, respectively. The results showed that the largest latent heat of microcapsules was 117 J/g with the optimized preparation parameters of MPCMs (10% emulsifier concentration, 3,000/rpm emulsification speed, core/wall mass ratio of 1:1, oil/water ratio of 1:10, 120 min reaction time, 75°C synthesis temperature). Based on the optimized parameters, the exothermic and heat absorption ranges of MPCMs were from −5°C to −20°C and 0°C to 20°C, respectively. After using MPCMs, the modified binder had a higher enthalpy latent heat of 5.1 J/g without any other affects. This study identifies the using potential application value of the temperature-changing modified binder for the anti-icing and temperature regulation pavement.

Lawele granular asphalt (LGA) is an alternative road pavement material from Lawele area in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. There is a need for a modifier to remove this asphalt and the material observed to have the potential is candlenut oil. Meanwhile, the potency of the material was tested for cold paving hot mix asbuton (CPHMA) at the normal temperature used for solidification while its performance as a modifier was further studied using Marshall, rutting, and indirect tensile strength tests. It is important to note that the Marshall test was conducted at an initial stage and the results were used as a reference to compose the mixture for further mechanical tests. The findings showed that the highest Marshall value was 725.89 kg which complies with the provisions of CPHMA. Moreover, it was discovered that the rutting and tensile strength did not have any direct relationship with the resistance to marshal. This is mainly because a longer storage duration was observed to have led to higher resistance. This means the candlenut oil has a good potential to serve as an LGA modifier. Therefore, there is a need to improve the LGA technology and value of candlenut needed for production on an industrial scale.

In order to explore the snow melting and anti-freeze performance of salt storage asphalt mixture (SSAM), the influence of salt, temperature, and soaking time on the adhesive property, deicing property, ice inhibition property, and long-term snow melting property of mixture was investigated by scratch, torsion, ice inhibition, and conductivity experiment, and the equation of salt dissolution and soaking time was established. The results showed that the ice surface torsion force of SSAM was less affected by temperature, and the change was only 1.1 N·M. SSAM achieves the effect that light snow is easier to dissolve and heavy snow is easier to remove. With the decrease in temperature, the ice inhibition grade of SSAM decreases gradually. The corresponding salt dissolution rate gradually decreases in the early, middle, and late stages, and the final amount of salt dissolution is 88.13%. Therefore, the evaluation methods of snow melting and anti-freeze performance are proposed, which could provide an important reference for the popularization and application of SSAM.

The mechanical behavior and interface failure morphology of asphalt and aggregate in reclaimed asphalt mixture are related to the blending state of aged and virgin asphalt. In this study, the pull-out tests of asphalt–aggregates interface under different blending state of aged and virgin asphalt were carried out, the tensile failure morphology were analyzed. Results indicated that with the increase of blending time and temperature, the tensile force increased to an extent and then remained unchanged. In the short blending time and low temperature, there were uneven weak interlayer regenerated in the interface, and was more likely to failure. The correlation between the blending state and the tensile force and failure morphology was analyzed. The research results are helpful to reveal the internal relationship between the blending state of aged and virgin asphalt and the road performance of the mixture.

Cohesive zone model (CZM) has gained considerable attention to investigate the fracture mechanism of asphalt mixture. The parameters of CZM in finite element (FE) model could be validated according to the semicircular bending test (SCB) results. The fracture energy and strength of asphalt mixture would be obtained based on the CZM parameters after validation. As a temperature sensitive material, the influence of temperature on the fracture properties of asphalt mixture needs to be investigated. In this study, the viscoelastic mechanic parameters of AC-13 asphalt mixture were tested through uniaxial compression test. Then the SCB tests were conducted at the temperature of 15℃, 25℃, and 35℃. The bilinear CZM parameters as well as the fracture energy and strength at different temperature were determined through an optimization approach with high efficiency. The results showed that the strength of asphalt mixture decreases with the increase of temperature, then the decrease of strength reduce its fracture energy.

In this study, the road performance of hot in-place recycled asphalt mixture is systematically evaluated through laboratory tests. Four kinds of asphalt mixtures are selected for the study: AC-10 before regeneration, AC-16 before regeneration, AC-10 after regeneration, and AC-16 after regeneration. The high-temperature and low-temperature properties of the asphalt mixture before and after regeneration are evaluated by rutting test, semi-circular bending test, and small beam bending test. The freeze–thaw splitting test, four-point bending fatigue test, and dynamic modulus test are used to determine the water stability, fatigue life, and uniaxial compression dynamic modulus of the asphalt mixture before and after regeneration. The results show that the asphalt mixture before and after regeneration has better high-temperature performance, and the low-temperature performance and water stability of the asphalt mixture before regeneration were poor. The fatigue life of the mixture before regeneration is low and prone to brittle fracture. And the low-temperature performance, water stability, fatigue performance of the asphalt mixture after regeneration is better. The results of the study have important guiding significance for the research of hot in-place recycled asphalt mixtures.

Numerous factors influence flexible pavement performance, and the interface shear strength between pavement layers is one of the quality and protection indicators; it is the primary cause of premature pavement failures, such as rutting and slippage of the wearing course, which can decline pavement life. Various methods have been developed to analyse the shear strength on the interface zone in the flexible pavement; however, the typical method is a direct shear. Several studies have investigated the problem of poor bonding between pavement layers and highlighted that many factors affect interface shear strength, such as temperature, surface texture, tack coat material, and type of mixture material. This paper aims to study the influence of gradation limit on the shear strength between double asphalt layer specimens and develop a new direct shear device for shear strength measurement. This study also investigates the shear behaviour of the studied materials at different temperatures (30, 40, 50, and 60°C). Experiments were carried out for hot mix asphalt (HMA) AC 10 as a top layer with three gradations and ACW 28 as a bottom layer with slow-setting emulsion (SS-h1) and rapid-setting emulsion (RS-h1). The result of the study showed that the essential factors that influence shear strength in the interface zone are the temperature and the gradation limit. For the emulsion type, there is a slight effect on the shear strength. Generally, the shear result based on the direct shear device developed in this study (UPM-ST) is reliable, and this relationship can be used to ensure that the limit of gradation and tack coat can improve shear strength.

To analyze the feasibility of soft buton rock asphalt (BRA) as asphalt rejuvenating agent, and taking AC-20C asphalt mixture as the research object, the mix design and test of modified hot recycled asphalt mixture with five different soft BRA contents (1%–5%) and five different RAP contents (10%–50%) were carried out based on response surface optimization method, so the optimal soft BRA content was determined. Then the pavement performance tests of five kinds of modified hot recycled asphalt mixture with different RAP contents were carried out and compared with common asphalt mixture, so as to determine the suitable RAP content. The results show that the consistency, high-, and low-temperature performance of soft BRA are between those of A-70# matrix asphalt and hard BRA or RAP waste asphalt. The soft BRA has good viscoelasticity and more light components, which can be used as rejuvenating agent. With the increase of soft BRA and RAP content, the optimum oil–stone ratio of modified hot recycled asphalt mixture increases, while the optimum oil–stone ratio of matrix asphalt decreases. The optimal content of soft BRA is recommended to be 3%. Compared with the common asphalt mixture, when the RAP content does not exceed 30%, the mixing of soft BRA can comprehensively improve the high-temperature stability, water stability, low-temperature crack resistance, and impermeability of modified hot recycled asphalt mixture. It is suggested that the suitable content range of RAP is 10%–30%. Therefore, the soft BRA can provide a new economic and green rejuvenating agent for central plant hot-mix asphalt recycling technology.

Asphalt pavements are widely used along the roads due to their versatile properties. The materials together with a layered construction system consisting of a road base, a connecting, and an upper surface layer allow to create a smooth surface, that carries the traffic load. Nonetheless, the ductile and flexible nature of such pavements may exhibit durability concerns. A reduced service life shortens the repair work frequency and promotes a regular congestion of the traffic flow. In this regard, open space asphalt pavements, similar as drainage asphalts, were added with cement-based materials. The spaces filled with cement mortar allow the surface structure to be more rigid and to resist the shear stresses that may arise for instance in roundabouts or on bus stops. The mechanical performance of these materials are interesting, but the durability is still questioned. In this work, an asphalt surface layer with open pores was filled with cementitious material and placed on a bus stop. Cored specimens were taken from a test surface and the microstructure was characterized. Especially the bond between the mortar matrix and the bituminous material. Furthermore, the samples were exposed to cyclic temperature variation from +15°C to –15°C for 28 cycles. The surface exhibited a variable resistance to temperature changes, which was partially related to the formation of microcracks within the microstructure. This may suggest a particular attention on the climate to which these open space-bearing asphalts filled with mortar may be applied.

Considering the shortcomings of the traditional water boiling method, an evaluation method of aggregate-asphalt adhesion based on surface energy is proposed. The surface energy and adhesion work were analyzed, the effect of aggregate type and anti-stripping agent on the adhesion characteristics of the aggregate-asphalt system was analyzed, and the relationship between the apparent properties of aggregates and surface energy and its effect on adhesion was discussed. The correlation between the parameters using the improved water boiling method and the work of adhesion was investigated. The results show that the adhesion work index can distinguish the improvement effect of different anti-stripping measures, which can effectively evaluate the adhesion between asphalt and aggregate. The surface energy of alkaline aggregate limestone is greater than that of acidic aggregate granite. The effect of aggregate surface texture on aggregate-asphalt adhesion is greater than that of angularity and sphericity. The acidic aggregates have much more surface polarity than other ones. The dispersive components of the surface energy of asphalt are larger than the polar components, and the addition of an anti-stripping agent improves the surface energy of the matrix asphalt, which can effectively improve the adhesion of the asphalt-aggregate system. The improved water boiling method can effectively evaluate the adhesion between acidic aggregates and asphalt and has a good degree of discrimination.

The objective of this work is to explore the damage healing characteristics between asphalt binder and mastic using newly developed testing procedures under different loading modes. Both the TS and LAS based-healing procedures are conducted on binder and mastic scales. Experimental and analytical results indicate that the addition of mineral powder into binder does not change the fatigue damage evolution trend in the LAS test; however, the effect of mineral powder addition on the HMC shows obvious asphalt-type dependence. Based on the newly proposed Q_H index and the Q_H^R-based healing criterion, the healing performance correlation between asphalt binder and mastic are interactively explored. The binder and mastic Q_H indices display a good linear relationship, regardless of loading modes and binder type. Meanwhile, a certain correlation is also found for the damage healing criteria among these two material scales.

To clarify the performance attenuation law of road marking paint, the performance attenuation behavior of two-component road marking paint was studied by combining indoor simulated aging conditions and substantial project tracking monitoring. The changes in abrasion resistance, pull strength, dynamic mechanical properties, and coefficient of retroreflected luminance of two-component road marking paint before and after aging were investigated, and its microstructure was analyzed. The results show that with the aging period extending, the wearing value of the two-component road marking paint increases quickly at first and then slowly, the pull strength decreases to the tenth period and becomes stable, and the Tg increases to the 20th period and becomes stable. The attenuation of the coefficient of retroreflected luminance and abrasion attenuation decreased exponentially with time, and the attenuation rate tended to be flat after 15 months. There was a certain correlation between the attenuation of retroreflected luminance and abrasion.

With the continuous development of environmental protection concepts such as “low carbon” and “sustainability”, cold recycling of asphalt pavement has received extensive attention. In this study, in order to utilize the aged asphalt in reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) at low temperature, it is tried to activate the aged asphalt in RAP by using diffusion components with dissolving ability, and realize cold regeneration in combination with water-based epoxy resin system, which is high-performance binder. The effects of different types of diffusing components on the performance of waterborne epoxy resin systems at different dosages were investigated mainly through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), solubility, drying time, viscosity, tensile strength, and other tests. It was found that the diffusing component did not react with the waterborne epoxy resin system, which could promote the dissolution of aged asphalt, but would affect the curing and mechanical properties of the waterborne epoxy resin.

In order to investigate the method of determining the optimum filler-asphalt ratio for solvent-based asphalt, the contact angles of solvent-based asphalt mortars in a certain range of filler-asphalt ratios were tested respectively. Meanwhile, the adhesion work at the mortar-aggregate interface was calculated based on the surface free energy theory. Therefore, the optimum filler-asphalt ratio can be pinpointed according to the peak value of the adhesion work curve. To further verify the strength and uniformity of internal system of mortar under the optimal filler-asphalt ratio identified by the adhesion work, an in-depth analysis of the internal cohesion of the mortar, the asphalt-filler interaction ability and the microscopic morphology of the mortar in the same filler-asphalt ratio range was carried out. The results show that there is a peak in the surface energy of the mortar for the selected filler-asphalt ratio range, as well as the adhesion work curve. In addition, the cohesion of mortar and interaction between the asphalt and the filler also reached the peak. From the microscopic analysis point of view, the asphalt and the filler were most uniformly coated at this point, which is highly consistent with the test results of contact angle. Therefore, the method of determining the optimum filler-asphalt ratio of solvent-based asphalt mortar based on the test results of surface energy is highly scientific and feasible.

The application of high-viscosity asphalt binders can significantly improve the performance of asphalt pavement, but with the increase of viscosity at high temperature, the carbon emissions during the construction of asphalt pavement increases significantly. The dynamic viscosity of high-viscosity asphalt binders depending on the content of TPS modifier was found to be related to interfacial bond strength between the asphalt binders and aggregates, but not clearly. To strengthen the interfacial bonding strength of high-viscosity asphalt binders by using less content of domestic TPS-modifier and SBS as well as to reduce carbon emissions of the construction of asphalt pavement, the hybrid modified method and some types of asphalt binders was selected in this research. They are a base asphalt binder, an SBS-modified asphalt binder producing in factory with the SBS content is 4.5 wt.%, some TPS-SBS-modified asphalt binders producing in laboratory with the TPS content is 13.6 wt.% plus SBS contents are 0, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0 wt.%. This research firstly studied the nano-sized microstructure topography of these types of asphalt binders. Then, the macro pull-off strength and rotational viscosity of these asphalt binders were both tested. Finally, the relationship between nano-sized and macro properties was detailed explored. Results indicated that (1) the added TPS modifiers remarkably altered the nano-sized topography of the base asphalt binders as well as the typical “bee like structure”, while the SBS modifiers altered less; (2) the TPS modifier markedly condensed the nano-sized of the “bee like structure” at 3D scale, while the plus SBS modifier establishing the network structure to some extent bordered the “bee like structure”; (3) the pull-off process of the base asphalt binder was more like brittle fracture, but the strength was bigger than the other modified asphalt binders, especially much bigger than the hybrid modified formulas; (4) the pull-off strength of asphalt binder increased as the AFM indexes of ISAD and Rmax increased, while the other two indexes de-creased; (5) the domestic TPS-modifier content of 13.6 wt.% plus SBS 3.0 wt.% is recommended by the rotational viscosity at high temperature and pull-off strength.

Homogeneity is one of the principal factors affecting the performance-related properties of bituminous mixes, and affects many performance-related properties of bituminous concrete pavements, for example strength, modulus, and service life. This study aims to investigate the influence of aggregate homogeneity on the bituminous mix shear strength using a 3D discrete element method (DEM). The aggregate homogeneity index that is used to assess the aggregate homogeneity in bituminous mixes, and the uniaxial penetration test that is a test method for bituminous mix shear strength were briefly introduced. The aggregate homogeneities were evaluated by the index. A micromechanical discrete element model for the prediction of bituminous mix shear strength was established using imaging techniques and particle flow code in three dimensions. The influence of aggregate homogeneity on the penetration strength of bituminous mixes was simulated on basis of this model. The obtained results were verified by performing an actual uniaxial penetration test. Results showed that the influence of aggregate homogeneity on the bituminous mix shear strength could be simulated using a 3D DEM. There was a good correlation between the aggregate homogeneity and variation of the uniaxial penetration strengths. Better aggregate homogeneity meant less variation in the uniaxial penetration strengths of bituminous mixes; and vice versa.

The thickness of adsorbed asphalt film is used to evaluate the interaction ability between asphalt and mineral powder. The calculation methods of the thickness of adsorbed asphalt film are proposed based on the Hashin, Mori Tanaka, and generalized self-consistent model, respectively. The influences of the acidity and alkalinity of mineral powder, test temperature, and frequency on the interactions are analyzed. The results show that the thickness of adsorbed asphalt film calculated by the Hashin model can better evaluate the interaction between asphalt and mineral powder. The higher the content of acid SiO₂ in mineral powder, the weaker the interaction ability between asphalt and mineral powder. The large amount of SiO₂ contained in coal gangue mineral powder inhibits the interaction ability with asphalt.

In order to evaluate the interaction ability between asphalt and mineral fillers and explore the influence mechanism of the characteristics of asphalt and mineral fillers on the interaction ability. Limestone (LS), granite (GN), fly ash (FA), and coal gangue (CG) fillers were added to the base asphalt to prepare asphalt mastic. The dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) tests were conducted to obtain the rheological properties of asphalt mastic. Based on the Palierne model, the evaluation index of interaction ability between asphalt and mineral fillers was proposed. The influence mechanism of asphalt and mineral fillers characteristics on the interaction ability was analyzed through microscopic and physical–chemical tests. The results show that the interaction ability between different mineral fillers and asphalt types is CG > LS > FA > GN. There is a good correlation between the external specific surface area of mineral fillers and the evaluation index, which can be considered a factor in the selection of mineral fillers. There is no new substance formed after mixing mineral fillers and asphalt. Physical and chemical adsorption is the major interaction between them. Among the four types of mineral fillers, coal gangue fillers have the strongest adsorption on asphalt, so coal gangue fillers have a strong interaction ability with asphalt.

The compatibility between styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) and asphalt is a crucial factor that limits the improvement of SBS-modified asphalt performance. Compatibilizers can enhance the compatibility between SBS and asphalt, thereby improving the pavement performance of asphalt. Compatibilizers primarily consist of light components such as aromatics and saturates, which can release the performance of SBS polymers to a certain extent and subsequently improve the performance of asphalt. However, excessive light components can weaken the high-temperature performance of asphalt. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of the dosage of compatibilizers on the compatibility performance of SBS-modified asphalt through conventional indicators, fluorescence microscopy, and frequency sweep tests. The results show that an increased dosage of compatibilizers leads to more uniform dispersion of SBS in asphalt and smaller particle size, as observed through fluorescence microscopy. Furthermore, the compatibility of SBS-modified asphalt improves with the increasing dosage of compatibilizers, as determined by frequency sweep tests. Finally, the conventional test indicators reveal that the high-temperature performance of SBS-modified asphalt initially increases and then decreases with an increase in the dosage of compatibilizers, while the low-temperature performance gradually improves. These findings provide insights for the preparation of high-performance SBS-modified asphalt.

The development of modern engineering construction is very rapid, and the application of construction technology in engineering construction is important content. To ensure the construction quality and safety of the construction project, the application of four new technologies was introduced, and the construction of the project was completed by using new technologies, new techniques, new equipment, and new materials. This paper discusses the application of the four new technologies in road and bridge construction in Shanxi Province. Combined with the wisdom construction, the four new technologies are used to actively promote the project integration construction management information platform, actively promote the establishment of safety double control system, actively promote the prefabricated pier column, cover beam pilot, and the construction of expressway. At the same time, the application of four new technologies in road and bridge construction is discussed, to provide a reference for modern construction projects.

Crack evaluation is critical to the pavement condition acquisition and preservation. The current pavement crack detection method based on two-dimensional images is relatively mature, but the extraction accuracy is quite dependent on the quality of the images themselves, which is greatly affected by various conditions. To tackle these problems, this paper proposes a pavement crack extraction method based on three-dimensional laser point cloud, which jointly uses the M-estimator sample consensus (MSAC) algorithm and K-nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithm. According to the feature that most of the crack points are below the road surface, the MSAC algorithm is used to fit the pre-processed point cloud to the plane and separate the crack point cloud from the pavement texture points. Experimental results exhibit that the fitting effect is better when the maximum point-to-plane distance is 6 mm. The distance density is characterized by the nearest neighbor distance of each point calculated by KNN algorithm. Results show that it is better to use 0.95 times the average distance as the threshold to filter the crack area. The YOLOv5 deep learning model is conducted to identify the crack images, and the results indicate that the proposed method has a good performance in reproducing the morphology of cracks.

Mean texture depth (MTD) of pavement is a 3D texture parameter that has been found by pavement engineers and researchers to be useful for providing an assessment of a pavement’s performance in a number of aspects, including (i) the ability of pavement to drain surface runoff effectively during rainfall, (ii) the ability to maintain an adequate skid resistance for safe vehicle operations in wet weather, and (iii) the ability to keep tire-pavement noise caused by traffic within an acceptable limit. Hence, it is important to maintain the MTD of pavements at a sufficiently high level at the road network level. Currently it is not possible to determine MTD continuously at traffic speed for network level monitoring. Instead, mean profile depth (MPD) has been measured for the purpose of estimating MTD. Unfortunately, MPD being a 2D texture parameter along a linear profile, cannot provide a perfect representation of MTD. Studies have found that the relationship between MPD and MTD vary from one mixture type to another. This presents a major problem for network level monitoring of MTD. To overcome this limitation, direct determination of MTD from 3D digital images is preferred. This paper describes the limitations of currently available method for numerical MTD determination based on 3D digital images, and proposes possible approaches to overcome those limitations. Through comparison of the different methods, recommendations are given for the preferred approach and method for direct MTD determination at road network level.

In order to ensure that the self-curing agent with small particle size and low dosage can be mixed evenly in cement, an intelligent metering equipment for cement admixture was designed by ANSYS-Fluent. Under the condition of ensuring specified mass ratio, simulate distribution of particles of the self-curing agent and cement medium in pipeline under different dosages, analyze the turbulent kinetic energy, pipeline velocity, and pipeline pressure of particles ejected from unified pipeline, and determine the relevant parameters of pipeline design. The results show that the maximum turbulent kinetic energy, the maximum flow velocity, and the maximum pressure of pipeline get best values when the self-curing agent is 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3% of cement mass. On this basis, the intelligent metering equipment can ensure that particles can be ejected smoothly without accumulation, so as to maximize the efficiency. It provides a data reference for subsequent use of intelligent metering equipment.

Knowledge of temperature distribution within a pavement structure is essential for thermal stability analysis of asphalt pavement materials and thermal environment studies of urban built-up areas. Thermal conductivity of pavement materials is required for both types of analyses. However, many pavement engineering laboratories lack the necessary equipment to test thermal conductivity, which can be tedious and time-consuming. To address this issue, the present study introduces a novel numerical procedure that determines the thermal conductivity of asphalt pavement materials. This approach applies the finite element method using the traditional row-and-column finite element mesh to represent a typical asphalt mixture consisting of the following constituents: asphalt binder, mineral aggregates, air, and moisture (if present). The accuracy of two- and three-dimensional finite element simulation models is presented and compared. The 2D model underestimates k by up to 5.01% when using the 3D anticipated value as a baseline. When high accuracy is not required, a two-dimensional model can also be used to predict the thermal conductivity of asphalt mixtures.

The objective of this work is to determine the appropriate resolution of pavement textures representative of their surface skid resistance. To do so, the friction and the texture of different pavement surfaces are first measured. Then, the friction of these pavements is computed using the dynamic friction model (DFM) and the captured textures at different resolutions. Finally, a comparison of the experimental and model results is made to determine the optimal resolution bringing them as close as possible. After analysis of the results, it is found that the optimal resolution is at 500 µm in these study conditions.

Monitoring and maintaining healthy trees along the roadsides can prevent the falling of trees, protect again road damage, and contribute to carbon neutrality efforts. This study introduces breath pipe (BP), a 10 cm × 30 cm soil conditioner pipe installed vertically in the top 30 cm surface soil, for enhancing camphor tree growth. To evaluate the effects of BPs on camphor tree development, a deep learning-based program was developed for automatically calculating the tree sizes and projected leaf area (PLA). It achieved an intersection over union (IOU) score of 84.7 % for PLA segmentation. BP has significantly enhanced both tree sizes and total PLA after 4 months of BP installation. In the sixth month, the roots mainly adhered to the area around the BP and were more densely distributed in the lower part of the BP. BP considerably guided the root development, which potentially avoids tree roots from damaging the road and the risk of falling trees.

With the development of cell phone technology, smartphone nowadays is no longer limited to communication but is also well used in fields such as traffic engineering, where they can be used to collect driving vibration data to evaluate pavement performance. The approach based on smartphones could effectively reduce the cost of pavement detection, in which the relationship between smartphone test data and pavement performance is the essence of the method. This study predicted the international roughness index (IRI) based on an improved PSO-BP neural network method using the driving vibration data collected by a self-developed smartphone application. The results show that the driving speed, acquisition frequency, experimental vehicle, and the attitude of mobile phones have a significant impact on the vibration data. The regression value (R) of the roughness optimized by PSO is 0.90, and the average relative error is 18.01%, which is improved by 4.29% compared with the traditional BP neural network. The pavement roughness can be more accurately predicted by using the method proposed in this study, which provides theoretical support for the further development of the intelligent detection of pavement performance.

In recent years, the cost of road maintenance has been increasing annually, and the importance of preventive maintenance for roads has been gaining more attention. Nevertheless, due to the varying maintenance times and long-term performance data of different roads, it is difficult to accurately assess the benefit of different preventive maintenance measures. In this study, the thin overlay, slurry seal, chip seal, and crack seal were considered as preventive maintenance measures, and the roughness, rutting, transverse cracking, longitudinal cracking, and alligator cracking as the long-term pavement performance. The data of maintenance measures and the long-term performance of pavement was selected from the long-term pavement performance (LTPP) database. The dynamic time warping (DTW) algorithm was used to evaluate the long-term performance of pavement that was maintained by different preventive maintenance measures and at different time. Results showed that the thin overlay has the most remarkable improvement effect on international roughness index (IRI) and rut depth (RD) of pavement, but the improvement effect of the other three maintenance measures on the long-term performance of pavement is almost the same and relatively small. The crack seals of longitudinal, transverse, and alligator cracks have little improvement on the long-term performance of the pavement. The DTW method showed excellent superiority in the evaluation of long-term pavement performance.

At present, China’s rebar processing production is still in the traditional state of on-site processing, this traditional processing mode has a lot of material waste, labor intensity, long processing cycle, site management chaos, high processing cost, safety, quality control difficulties, and a series of problems. Centralized numerical control processing of construction steel is an effective way to solve the problems of waste of raw materials, high processing cost, difficult quality, safety, and civilized management of steel processing. The powerful and high professional level of BIM technology is applied to the centralized numerical control processing of steel, forming a centralized numerical control processing of steel based on BIM technology, and its application in large and intensive housing construction projects. Will greatly improve the project management level and economic benefits. In this paper, the box girder structure and box girder reinforcement structure are established in BIM software, and the reinforcement model is established by Navisworks software for collision detection. After determining the elastic modulus of the steel bar, the degree of rebound of the steel bar is judged, and the pretreatment is carried out to realize the standardization and intellectualization of the steel bar processing and to solve the problem of substandard quality control of the steel bar. In addition, remote control and intelligent production tasks are realized in the process of steel bar production, which improves the effectiveness of personnel allocation and production material cost control in the process of processing.

Traffic volume is generally one of the main factors determining pavement type. In the 2017 Indonesian Road Pavement Design Manual, planners are given several pavement-type options based on traffic volume and design life. In selecting the appropriate pavement type, both parameters cannot provide comprehensive guidance and could produce pavement structures that last under the predicted service life. In this study, an analysis was carried out to see if a recommendation can be given on selecting pavement type based on life cycle cost and traffic load analysis. This study used the Tepus–Jerukwudel road segment in the Southern part of Java Island as a case study. Two types of pavements, jointed plain concrete pavement and flexible pavement with asphaltic concrete or hot-rolled sheet as a surface layer were selected based on the 10 variations of predicted traffic loads. A detailed calculation of the road handling cost for each pavement type is carried out for life cycle cost analysis. The results showed that the types of road pavement recommended can be varies depending on its life cycle cost and traffic loads. One needs to analyze thoroughly based on the predicted traffic load and life cycle cost to ensure the proper type of pavement structure over its service life.

In recent years, China’s maintenance investment is increasing, but the contradiction between maintenance demand and maintenance investment is still very prominent. The daily maintenance cost is allocated according to the budget quota of highway maintenance project. Under the condition of limited maintenance fund, the treatment effect of daily maintenance is the key point during maintenance. In order to enable the highway managers to intuitively feel the treatment effect of daily maintenance of pavement distress, the concept of effective patch rate is proposed in this paper. Based on automatic detection data of asphalt pavement of the whole highway network in 2021 in a central province, the calculation method of the best effective patch rate is selected by comparing the two calculation methods of the effective patch rate, and then a more reasonable statistical method is selected by comparing the two statistical methods of the effective patch rate of the road section. Secondly, the correlation between the effective patch rate and the change trend of PCI in different levels of the number of damages is analyzed. Finally, the effective patch rate is verified by observing the improvement of PCI grade after simulated crack filling. The result shows that the effective patch rate can reflect the treatment effect in the daily maintenance of pavement distress.

Ice on the road surface can cause vehicles to skid, overturn, and tailgate, which can seriously compromise the safety of traffic operations. To avoid traffic accidents, it is necessary to identify the icy state of the road. A piezoelectric sensor was designed for automating the detection of icing. The sensors were calibrated in various icing scenarios, and their accuracy was tested in a variety of operational situations. Eventually, the sensors were trialed on a national road in Qinghai Province. The results show that, under different working conditions, the sensor is capable of detecting the thickness of ice on the road surface with a resolution of 0.1 mm and an accuracy of no less than 95%. The piezoelectric sensors can serve in the natural environment of the road for a long time and provide a technical reference for automatic road detection.