The rigid and flexible road pavements in terms of life cycle costs

Abstract

The cost of road pavement construction, its durability and reliability depends on many factors, including: the scope and detail of the technical design, quality of work but also the scope of works related to its maintenance, conservation and operation. Determining the amount of rational expenses, in terms of the life cycle cost of the pavement, requires determination and consideration of the above issues, already at the planning and design stage. In many cases, the ordering party analyzes only the initial investment costs, omitting the operating expenses for the pavement in the long term. The article points out the link between decisions taken at the planning and design stages and expenses incurred at the stage of maintenance and use of road pavement. The authors analyse and compare life cycle costs for two technologies of making road pavement-flexible (asphalt pavement) and rigid (portland cement concrete-PCC) and three categories of road traffic. Referring to the methodology included in [1], the authors present an example of the LCC analysis and determine the individual cost components: construction, renovation and maintenance during the period of 30 years. The analysed costs were determined based on the expert knowledge and current price publications. The authors draw attention to the fact that low costs incurred by the ordering party at the stage of investment implementation, in the course of use and maintenance of the pavement, entail significant expenses in the long-term. The authors also indicate difficulties related to the estimation of the cost of the road pavements life cycle. The main reasons include the lack of designers' knowledge about the technology of pavement repairs and related costs, as well as the lack of a simple model for calculating life cycle costs, which is a tool for supporting investment decisions and indicating the optimal solution already at the design stage.

Predicting Performance of Lightweight Concrete with Granulated Expanded Glass and Ash Aggregate by Means of Using Artificial Neural Networks

“…The results of the presented research show the new possibilities of the application of computer tools in concrete technology. In the currently used solutions for LWC, additional benefits are developed, e.g., improvement of insulating properties with simultaneous increase of load-bearing capacity, extension of durability, or improvement of surface aesthetics [46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53]. It should be emphasized that these computer tests with the use ANN were preceded by theoretical considerations and long laboratory tests.…”

The Application of Granulated Expanded Glass Aggregate with Cement Grout as an Alternative Solution for Sub-Grade and Frost-Protection Sub-Base Layer in Road Construction

“…Application of the recycled material with GEGA allows an effective construction of the road pavement, maintaining the required load-bearing capacity and durability parameters.The proposed solution, concerning the use of recycled materials is fully coherent with the idea of environment protection and sustainable development of the economy, not only in Europe, but worldwide. The application of GEGA allows limiting the mining of the NATU materials, due to which environmental degradation can be reduced.It is recommended to carry out further research on the LCC (life cycle costs) analysis, conducted for flexible and rigid pavements, for selected traffic categories and for two technologies of road pavement construction [50,51,52]. Further research into lightweight aggregate’s compressive strength increase shall be carried out and the elastic modulus shall be determined, as well as volume flow rate, depending on the porosity.Rapid development in industrial application of GEGA and other lightweight aggregates, manufactured from recycled materials, requires a proposal and implementation of the design methods for the materials with synthetic aggregates and recycled aggregates.…”

“…It is recommended to carry out further research on the LCC (life cycle costs) analysis, conducted for flexible and rigid pavements, for selected traffic categories and for two technologies of road pavement construction [50,51,52].…”

Analysis of Fixed and Variable Rigid Pavements in Comparison for Longevity, Durability and Cost-effectiveness

“…This type of pavement is more rigid than asphalt pavement due to the materials significant stiffness. By applying flexural strength to transfer wheel loads to the subsurface layer, it functions as a rigid plate and reinforcement in the form of steel rod or mesh are the ingredients of rigid pavement [21]. Three layers should be employed while building a rigid pavement, according to information supplied by [22].…”