Investigating the environmental impact and competitiveness of innovative pavement technologies

When setting up innovative materials and technologies for pavements, issues emerge because of the need to have comprehensive analyses able to highlight the pros and cons at the design stage. Indeed, solutions that appear convenient at a first analysis could result in unsatisfactory solutions at an in-depth analysis when considering details that were initially neglected. This calls for models to 1) predict each impact at the design stage and 2) compare competing solutions comprehensively. Based on the above, the main objectives of this study are: a) to model the most critical processes involved in pavement construction, enabling the generation of more accurate information about associated impacts; b) to set up and implement a model for estimating compaction energy (i.e., modelling the compaction phase) during the design stage; c) to define a systematic approach for competitive equilibria analysis, considering both environmental and costs impacts; d) to implement the methodology and carry out an analysis of competitive equilibria among four mixtures (two innovative and two traditional). The key findings highlight that the selection of materials and production technologies plays a pivotal role in influencing both costs and environmental impacts. The comprehensive approach proposed in this study provides insights into optimizing sustainability and cost-efficiency in road construction, offering a framework for balancing environmental and economic considerations.