Optimización del diseño estructural de pavimentos asfálticos para calles y carreteras

gráficos, tablasThe construction of asphalt pavements in streets and highways is an activity that requires optimizing the consumption of significant economic and natural resources. Pavement design optimization meets contradictory objectives according to the availability of resources and users’ needs. This dissertation explores the application of metaheuristics to optimize the design of asphalt pavements using an incremental design based on the prediction of damage and vehicle operating costs (VOC). The costs are proportional to energy and resource consumption and polluting emissions. The evolution of asphalt pavement design and metaheuristic optimization techniques on this topic were reviewed. Four computer programs were developed: (1) UNLEA, a program for the structural analysis of multilayer systems. (2) PSO-UNLEA, a program that uses particle swarm optimization metaheuristic (PSO) for the backcalculation of pavement moduli. (3) UNPAVE, an incremental pavement design program based on the equations of the North American MEPDG and includes the computation of vehicle operating costs based on IRI. (4) PSO-PAVE, a PSO program to search for thicknesses that optimize the design considering construction and vehicle operating costs. The case studies show that the backcalculation and structural design of pavements can be optimized by PSO considering restrictions in the thickness and the selection of materials. Future developments should reduce the computational cost and calibrate the pavement performance and VOC models. (Texto tomado de la fuente)La construcción de pavimentos asfálticos en calles y carreteras es una actividad que requiere la optimización del consumo de cuantiosos recursos económicos y naturales. La optimización del diseño de pavimentos atiende objetivos contradictorios de acuerdo con la disponibilidad de recursos y las necesidades de los usuarios. Este trabajo explora el empleo de metaheurísticas para optimizar el diseño de pavimentos asfálticos empleando el diseño incremental basado en la predicción del deterioro y los costos de operación vehicular (COV). Los costos son proporcionales al consumo energético y de recursos y las emisiones contaminantes. Se revisó la evolución del diseño de pavimentos asfálticos y el desarrollo de técnicas metaheurísticas de optimización en este tema. Se desarrollaron cuatro programas de computador: (1) UNLEA, programa para el análisis estructural de sistemas multicapa. (2) PSO-UNLEA, programa que emplea la metaheurística de optimización con enjambre de partículas (PSO) para el cálculo inverso de módulos de pavimentos. (3) UNPAVE, programa de diseño incremental de pavimentos basado en las ecuaciones de la MEPDG norteamericana, y el cálculo de costos de construcción y operación vehicular basados en el IRI. (4) PSO-PAVE, programa que emplea la PSO en la búsqueda de espesores que permitan optimizar el diseño considerando los costos de construcción y de operación vehicular. Los estudios de caso muestran que el cálculo inverso y el diseño estructural de pavimentos pueden optimizarse mediante PSO considerando restricciones en los espesores y la selección de materiales. Los desarrollos futuros deben enfocarse en reducir el costo computacional y calibrar los modelos de deterioro y COV.DoctoradoDoctor en Ingeniería - Ingeniería AutomáticaDiseño incremental de pavimentosEléctrica, Electrónica, Automatización Y Telecomunicacione

Artificial Intelligence in Civil Engineering

Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science, involved in the research, design, and application of intelligent computer. Traditional methods for modeling and optimizing complex structure systems require huge amounts of computing resources, and artificial-intelligence-based solutions can often provide valuable alternatives for efficiently solving problems in the civil engineering. This paper summarizes recently developed methods and theories in the developing direction for applications of artificial intelligence in civil engineering, including evolutionary computation, neural networks, fuzzy systems, expert system, reasoning, classification, and learning, as well as others like chaos theory, cuckoo search, firefly algorithm, knowledge-based engineering, and simulated annealing. The main research trends are also pointed out in the end. The paper provides an overview of the advances of artificial intelligence applied in civil engineering

Eleventh International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields

Innovations in Road, Railway and Airfield Bearing Capacity – Volume 3 comprises the third part of contributions to the 11th International Conference on Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields (2022). In anticipation of the event, it unveils state-of-the-art information and research on the latest policies, traffic loading measurements, in-situ measurements and condition surveys, functional testing, deflection measurement evaluation, structural performance prediction for pavements and tracks, new construction and rehabilitation design systems, frost affected areas, drainage and environmental effects, reinforcement, traditional and recycled materials, full scale testing and on case histories of road, railways and airfields. This edited work is intended for a global audience of road, railway and airfield engineers, researchers and consultants, as well as building and maintenance companies looking to further upgrade their practices in the field

Sustainable pavement applications utilizing quarry by-products and recycled/nontraditional aggregate materials

Quarry By-products (QB), usually less than 0.25 in. (6 mm) in size, are the residual deposits from the production of required grades of aggregates and are often stockpiled in excess quantities at the quarries. More than 175 million US tons of QB are produced every year from the 3,000 operating quarries around the US. QB pose environmental and economic challenges as they accumulate in large quantities in landfills or interfere with quarry operations. With recent focus on sustainable construction practices and the scarcity of natural resources, more common and sustainable uses of by-product materials such as QB are becoming imperative. This dissertation focuses on the introduction and evaluation of new sustainable applications of QB and/or QB mixed with other marginal, virgin or recycled aggregate materials in pavements. The selected QB applications were evaluated through the construction of full-scale pavement test sections utilizing QB in targeted sustainable applications, and testing them with heavy wheel loads through Accelerated Pavement Testing (APT). The QB applications studied included both unbound and bound (chemically stabilized) pavement subsurface/foundation layers. The studied QB pavement applications were in five categories: (1) Using QB for filling voids between large stones as aggregate subgrade on soft subgrades; (2) increased fines content (e.g. 15% QB fines passing No. 200 sieve) in dense-graded aggregate subbase over soft subgrade soils; (3) using QB as a cement or fly ash-treated subbase (e.g., in inverted pavements); (4) using QB as a cement-treated base material; and (5) for base course applications, blending QB with coarse aggregate fractions of recycled materials and stabilizing the blends with 3% cement or 10% class C fly ash. In preparation for the field evaluations, several laboratory studies were conducted to finalize the designs of intended QB applications. The main laboratory studies were: (1) A packing study of QB with recycled coarse aggregates to determine the optimum blending ratio; (2) a packing study to aid the construction of large aggregate subgrade with QB materials filling the inherent voids; and, (3) Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) tests for chemically stabilized QB samples. Fifteen full-scale pavement test sections utilizing QB applications and one conventional flexible section were constructed in three ‘Test Cells.’ Cell 1 had four paved and four unpaved test sections to study construction platforms and low volume road applications of QB. Cells 2 and 3 studied chemically stabilized QB applications for base and subbase layers. Construction activities included engineering the top 305 mm (12 in.) of existing subgrade to a California Bearing Ratio (CBR) = 1% for Cell 1 test sections and to a CBR = 6% for all the pavement test sections in Cells 2 and 3. Subgrade modification was achieved through moisture adjustment and compaction. The construction of the QB layers were successfully achieved and extensively monitored. The data for nuclear density measurements and moisture contents indicated that nearly all the test sections were constructed at or near the targeted optimum moisture contents and achieved proper densities. A Lightweight Deflectometer (LWD) was used to assess the stiffness of the constructed layers after the construction of each lift. It was also used to monitor the increase in stiffness of the chemically stabilized layers. The increase in stiffness of the chemically stabilized layers was the highest for cement-stabilized test sections and usually lower for fly ash-stabilized sections. Following the paving of test sections with Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA), Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) tests were conducted on all finished surfaces. Significantly low deflection values were measured for the sections with cement-stabilized QB and QB blends with recycled aggregates. APT was conducted using the Advanced Transportation Loading Assembly (ATLAS). A constant unidirectional wheel load of 10 kips (44.5 kN), a tire pressure of 110 psi (760 kPa), and a constant speed of 5 mph (8 km/h) were assigned. The exceptionally good performance of some of the stabilized QB applications in Cells 2 and 3 necessitated trafficking in excess of 100,000 passes; an increased wheel load/tire pressure combination of 14 kip (62.3 kN)/ 125 psi (862 kPa) was adopted for the additional 35,000 passes. Four of the test sections in Cells 2 and 3 were instrumented with soil pressure cells on top of the engineered CBR = 6% subgrade. Data collected from these pressure cells showed that significantly low vertical pressures were transmitted to the subgrade for sections with stabilized bases/subbases. Measurements for rutting progression for the construction platform and HMA-paved test sections in Cell 1 showed good performance for the sections constructed with 15% nonplastic fines and with blends of large aggregate subgrade rocks with QB. Measurements of rutting progression in Cells 2 and 3 indicated exceptionally good performance of sections with blends of QB and recycled coarse aggregates stabilized with cement. Generally, sections stabilized with cement accumulated lower rutting than those stabilized with fly ash. No significant differences in rutting performance were detected for sections with QB from two different aggregate sources. For the inverted section with a cement-stabilized QB subbase, measured rut amounts were significantly lower than those in the test section with the fly ash-stabilized QB subbase. None of the stabilized sections showed any signs of cracks. Additional testing and forensic analyses were conducted after the APT study to better assess the performance of the constructed sections. These tests included: (1) FWD testing before and after APT; (2) HMA coring; (3) Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) testing for the aggregate subbase/base layers; (4) flooded tests for the aggregate subgrade/QB test sections; and (5) trenching to assess uniformity of construction and determine as-constructed layer thicknesses. Results from these forensic tests further supported the conclusions from the APT study indicating the overall quite satisfactory performance for the studied sustainable QB applications. Mechanistic analysis was conducted using GT-PAVE axisymmetric finite-element program to analyze the FWD results, and to calculate response benefits based on resilient FWD deflection for various design thicknesses and material properties. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) studies were conducted to assess the environmental impacts and cost benefits for the studied QB applications. LCA and LCCA results for three scenarios, i.e. as-constructed and as-designed pavement thicknesses studied though APT and newly proposed pavement sections for low volume pavement alternatives, indicated that chemically stabilized QB and QB blended with recycled coarse aggregates could be successfully used to construct sustainable, resilient, and low cost pavements. Particularly, pavement structures with a low 3% cement-stabilized QB applications created high stiffness base/subbase layers in this study; they exhibited significant response benefits due to low FWD measured and predicted surface deflections and can withstand higher traffic volumes over pavement life

New innovations in pavement materials and engineering: A review on pavement engineering research 2021

Sustainable and resilient pavement infrastructure is critical for current economic and environmental challenges. In the past 10 years, the pavement infrastructure strongly supports the rapid development of the global social economy. New theories, new methods, new technologies and new materials related to pavement engineering are emerging. Deterioration of pavement infrastructure is a typical multi-physics problem. Because of actual coupled behaviors of traffic and environmental conditions, predictions of pavement service life become more and more complicated and require a deep knowledge of pavement material analysis. In order to summarize the current and determine the future research of pavement engineering, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) has launched a review paper on the topic of “New innovations in pavement materials and engineering: A review on pavement engineering research 2021”. Based on the joint-effort of 43 scholars from 24 well-known universities in highway engineering, this review paper systematically analyzes the research status and future development direction of 5 major fields of pavement engineering in the world. The content includes asphalt binder performance and modeling, mixture performance and modeling of pavement materials, multi-scale mechanics, green and sustainable pavement, and intelligent pavement. Overall, this review paper is able to provide references and insights for researchers and engineers in the field of pavement engineering

Eleventh International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields

Innovations in Road, Railway and Airfield Bearing Capacity – Volume 1 comprises the first part of contributions to the 11th International Conference on Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields (2022). In anticipation of the event, it unveils state-of-the-art information and research on the latest policies, traffic loading measurements, in-situ measurements and condition surveys, functional testing, deflection measurement evaluation, structural performance prediction for pavements and tracks, new construction and rehabilitation design systems, frost affected areas, drainage and environmental effects, reinforcement, traditional and recycled materials, full scale testing and on case histories of road, railways and airfields. This edited work is intended for a global audience of road, railway and airfield engineers, researchers and consultants, as well as building and maintenance companies looking to further upgrade their practices in the field

New innovations in pavement materials and engineering: A review on pavement engineering research 2021

Sustainable and resilient pavement infrastructure is critical for current economic and environmental challenges. In the past 10 years, the pavement infrastructure strongly supports the rapid development of the global social economy. New theories, new methods, new technologies and new materials related to pavement engineering are emerging. Deterioration of pavement infrastructure is a typical multi-physics problem. Because of actual coupled behaviors of traffic and environmental conditions, predictions of pavement service life become more and more complicated and require a deep knowledge of pavement material analysis. In order to summarize the current and determine the future research of pavement engineering, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) has launched a review paper on the topic of “New innovations in pavement materials and engineering: A review on pavement engineering research 2021”. Based on the joint-effort of 43 scholars from 24 well-known universities in highway engineering, this review paper systematically analyzes the research status and future development direction of 5 major fields of pavement engineering in the world. The content includes asphalt binder performance and modeling, mixture performance and modeling of pavement materials, multi-scale mechanics, green and sustainable pavement, and intelligent pavement. Overall, this review paper is able to provide references and insights for researchers and engineers in the field of pavement engineering