Den senaste svenska vintern var en riktig katastrof som bestod av Ovanliga mängder snö, fukt och kyla, från mitten av december 2009 till mitten av mars 2010. Snömassor orsakade stora problem i tågtrafiken, både nationellt och lokalt. Det påverkade både gods- och persontransporten. Halka och tak ras ledde till personskador och dödsolyckor. Kylan påverkade även elnät som ledde till att människor stod utan värme och belysning. Allmänheten drabbades av snöovädret på olika sätt. Människor skadades i trafiken, halkolyckor, och flera tak som rasade ner. Människor kom även försent till olika destinationer. I södra och mellersta Sverige var problemet störst inom området transport (väg, järnväg). Störningar i vatten, elförsörjningen och tak ras. I söder uppstod ett kontaktledningsfel med flera växel- och signalproblem.

En viktig sak är att det inte går att tänka att den vintern bara var en engångsföreteelse, utan Trafikverket måste tänka på att Sverige ligger i Norden och att vintern 2009/10 kan upprepas flera gånger. Därför är det viktigt att bygga en modell för underhållet. Trafikverket skulle kunna ta de sista vintrarna på allvar och ta fram en åtgärdsplan för att minska effekterna av framtida, svåra vinterförhållanden.

Avhjälpande åtgärder måste då sättas in snabbt för att förhindra störningar i trafiken. Mången tågtrafik störningar beror på fel i någon eller några komponenter som själva baninfrastrukturen består av. En jämförelse har gjorts mellan spårväxlar under sommaren och spårväxlar under vintrar, som visar 85 % fler fel under vintertid än sommartid. Trafikverkets kostnader för underhåll av järnvägar på lång sikt uppgår till 4 miljarder. Regeringen fastställde den nya nationella trafikplanen för utveckling av transportsystemet för perioden 2010-2021 i slutet av mars 2010. I arbetet undersöks en jämförelse, så kallad "Benchmarking" mellan Sverige och Schweiz som visar hög kvalitet i kapacitetsutnyttjande och hög punktlighet i Schweiz. Punktlighet i Schweiz har stigit 97 % medan i Sverige var 87 %.

Ett övergripande syfte med arbetet är att undersöka hur effektiviteten på det svenska järnvägs nätet kan förbättras genom att studera framgångarna i Schweiz.

There are experimental based software packages as well as traffic simulation models that

are used for analyzing life cycle cost of road projects. Among those our study was focused on

currently available models to analyze the road user delay costs and to identify factors

affecting road user delay costs. Sensitivity analyses were performed to identify the important

factors that influence the user delay cost. Finally, prediction of future traffic demand as well

as user delay cost, using the binomial lattice model, were presented to include the uncertainty

of future traffic and user delay costs. The results of this study could help the highway

designers with evaluating the future traffic.

Since ancient times, roads have tied people and cultures together. Roads have been createdwith the aim of facilitating trade and cultural exchange among different regions in the world. After the technologic development in vehicle industry and dramatically increase of motoring in the world during the past century road communication has gained a great importance for transporting people and goods. Thus, good safety and accessibility on roads all year round is now a vital necessity for a healthy economy in all modern societies. In order to keep roads safe, available for use with high transport quality they need to be maintained in real time. One of the most difficult tasks in this context is to keep the roads in good condition and accessible even during winter. The main objective of this doctoral thesis is to attempt to specify the most efficient ways of executing winter road maintenance.  The preliminary issue in this context is whether it is the use of current assistive tools, that is, technical aspects that should be optimized and developed or whether it is the way in which winter maintenance services are procured and outsourced, that is, contractual aspects that should be improved which could give the optimal impact for both clients and contractors and make winter road maintenance more effective, or both issues. In order to define the outline of the research project a comprehensive state of the art survey was initiated with the intention of collecting and gaining insights into the earlier studies in the research area. Three basic areas associated with the performance of winter road maintenance were considered to be most relevant for review due to the anchorage between the areas. The selected areas were climatological, technical and contractual aspects. The literature review was followed by an electronic questionnaire survey. The results of the study in this stage showed that current technical methods almost functioned in a reasonable manner but there was an imprecise dissatisfaction with the current maintenance contract. The second stage of the research consisted of a number of additional empirical investigations in order to identify contractual problematic issues behind the current winter road maintenance in Sweden. Generally, those factors that are rarely considered as potential underlying causes to costly performance of winter road maintenance in Sweden were studied in this research project for example improper use of related technical assistive tools, procurement of improper bundled winter services and inappropriate contract structure. This thesis consists of six papers, five of which are related to each other, and the first one is completely independent but within research area. Findings in the thesis contributes to extend understanding about; how designing appropriate contracts can improve winter road maintenance, how proper use of assistive tools can reduce unnecessary winter road maintenance costs and minimize road traffic disruptions and delays, how a partnering structure in contracts can create confidence and trust between clients and contractors that in turn leads to minimizing or eliminating conflicts and disputes between parties involved, how choice of appropriate procurement methods through proper bundling of winter road services can contribute to shorten the procurement process and create incentives for contractors, and how selection of proper payment mechanisms can contribute to higher service quality of performed winter road measures. Additionally, an adequate knowledge and understanding of climate, proper knowledge of road weather and its impact on winter road traffic is essential for contribution of better planning of how to maintain the road network during winter. Since understanding about winter issues and its effect on winter road traffic is far from complete and winter road maintenance in the cold regions is a similar challenge, broad and complex, the results of this research may even contribute to improving winter maintenance problems in the countries with severe winters like Sweden.

Winter tyres must be able to cope with the slipperiness which occurs on the surface of the roads during winter. The slipperiness is generated by water vapour in the atmosphere, precipitating and transforming into a solid form i.e. in ice form, either directly or after refrigeration or cooling. Many experimental studies e.g. winter tyre tests have been carried out by many companies and authorities independently from each other to determine if there are any types of tyres which have the best grip on different road surface conditions in the winter. The purpose of this study is to compile, analyse, compare and evaluate the obtained results of some winter tyre tests which have been performed in Sweden during years 2007-2010. The study aims further to find out which types of these tyres are most appropriate as an asset and increase the traffic safety on Swedish winter roads. Both studded tyres and non-studded tyres, socalled friction tyres or all season tyres were used in the tests. The method of the study is partly based on a theoretical study by reviewing some literature in this area and furthermore studying some practical cases i.e. winter tyre tests. The results of the tests are given in tables and figures showing the function of different types of the studded and nonstudded tyres on different road conditions. All test-tyres have been supplied by several tyre manufacturers. The study is only limited to compare the grip and effectiveness of different type of winter tyres on different kind of road conditions. The study does not take the impact of the tyres on the environment into consideration. The study shows that currently there are several types of winter tyres on the market but there is no tyre that is ideal or works best under all winter conditions.

Inmany countries winter road maintenance is outsourced to private contractors. Selecting appropriate contract for performance of winter highway maintenance and implementing it in an efficient way is then very important for both results and costs. Writing contracts concerning winter road maintenance is however difficult as weather conditions are hard to describe in an exact way and as what is rational to do in a certain situation, depends on expected future conditions. Problems during recent harsh winters in Sweden have clearly illustrated this. The study argues, with reference both to theoretical and empirical studies, that a partnering concept can improve efficiency in outsourced winter road maintenance. A detailed model of how partnering can be implemented is presented for winter road maintenance contracts together with systems for information supply such as International Roughness Index –surface unevenness measurement and Road Weather Information System.

In countries with severe winters, a major portion of the annual budget for road maintenance is allocated to winter road maintenance. Thus it is important to identify an appropriate basis for the remuneration of the entrepreneurs who carry out the maintenance tasks, one that minimises or eliminates disputes and that satisfies both client organisations and contractors. The objective of this study is to investigate and evaluate the payment models applied in Sweden for winter road maintenance services and suggest possible improvements. Inadequate reimbursement models lead either to unnecessary cost overruns that affect the client's annual budget or cause cash flow problems for the contractor, which can result in safety issues. To solve the problems associated with paying for just-in-time road maintenance, cold region countries such as Sweden have developed various remuneration models, including some based on what is known as the Weather Index. The study uses a domestic questionnaire survey, analysis of a number of current contract documents, a series of meetings with project managers followed by an international benchmarking investigation. The study identified four winter maintenance remuneration models of which one is based on weather data. The study reveals that the payment model based on weather data statistics is applied only to roads with higher traffic flow and generates the most uncertainty about costs. Possible improvements should include more reliable weather data obtained from weather stations and bonuses related to customer satisfaction.

Public procurement of road maintenance services, particularly in cold regions is not an easy task in order to satisfy road-users during winter. Road-users’ dissatisfaction, complaint and pressure can usually be considered as major factors for having more accessible and safe roads during winter. These pressures have contributed and led to an increasing critical approach focusing on public procurement of these services after some harsh winters in the recent years in Sweden with traffic disruption and delay as consequence i.e. an increasing focus on the way in which the Swedish state authorities and local governments procure winter road maintenance services. The present study which is part of a larger research project investigating efficient winter road maintenance through procurement, tendering and contract aimed at extending this knowledge base with regard to procurement and socioeconomic factors with focus on the winter maintenance of the Swedish road network. The study reveals that even the Swedish winter road maintenance services are procured and outsourced in accordance with EU directive and public procurement rules transposed into the Swedish act on public procurement, the act has been interpreted in a manner that all the process has led to great dissatisfaction of end-users during winter due to improper bundling of winter related services. The lack of economic motivation in current contracts concerning winter road maintenance in the form of incentives has led to an inefficient performance of winter road measures. The study suggests a number of proposals in order to make forthcoming contracts more effective through proper bundling of winter services and create incentives for contractors to improve the performance of winter road maintenance services.

Winter highway operation and maintenance in the northern periphery is a challenge, a broad and complex area. Understanding about this area and its effect on winter traffic performance is far from complete. During the last forty years since Swedish Transport Administration (former Swedish National Road Administration) began attempting of the use of Road Weather Information System -RWIS on the Swedish road network, the repair and maintenance methods of this assistive tool has dramatically changed. Changing of the methods have been due to the progress and development of the technology within this area i.e. from simple stations that could be connected via telephone network for icy road warning to amore sophisticated and modern internet based technology. The main objective of this study was to investigate and find the importance and effectiveness of using weather data collected from RWIS by road agencies as an assistive tool for effective performance of winter road maintenance, and how these tools are currently maintained without influencing the delay of winter road maintenance.The study also attempts to find possible interactions between technical and contractual issues that may affect winter road maintenance. The method of the study was partly based on a theoretical study by reviewing some internationally published articles and reports in this area and furthermore a domestic questionnaire survey, an internationalbenchmarking and a follow-up study within a selected region in Sweden. The results of the study reveal that even if the weather stations are normally placed on roads where the risk of icy roads is greatest, there are indirect factors which influence the planned maintenance of these tools which subsequenly cause delay of winter road maintenance.

Mechanistic-empirical (M-E) pavement design methods have become the focus of modern pavement design procedure. One of the main distresses that M-E design methods attempt to control is permanent deformation (rutting). The objective of this paper is to evaluate three M-E permanent deformation models for unbound granular materials, one from the US M-E pavement design guide and two other relatively new models. Two series of heavy vehicle simulator (HVS) tests with three different types of base material were used for this purpose. The permanent deformation, wheel loading, pavement temperature, and other material properties were continuously controlled during the HVS tests. Asphalt concrete layers were considered as linear elastic where stress-dependent behaviour of unbound materials was considered when computing responses for the M-E permanent deformation models with a nonlinear elastic response model. Traffic wandering was also accounted for in modelling the traffic by assuming it was normally distributed and a time-hardening approach was applied to add together the permanent deformation contributions from different stress levels. The measured and predicted permanent deformations are in general in good agreement with only small discrepancies between the models. Model parameters were also estimated for three different types of material.

A response model to be employed in a mechanistic-empirical pavement performance prediction model based on multilayer elastic theory has been developed.An iterative approach using a method of successive over-relaxation of a stress dependency model is used to account for the nonlinear behavior of unbound materials. Asphalt and subgrade materials are assumed to be linear elastic. The response model was verified against two series of Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVS) response measurements made under a variety of wheel load configurations and at different pavement temperatures.A comparison with FallingWeight Deflectometer (FWD) data was also carried out. The model was subsequently used to predict permanent deformation from the HVS testing using simplework hardening models.Atime hardening approach has been adopted to combine permanent deformation contributions from stress levels of different magnitude.The response model outputs and the predicted permanent deformations were generally in good agreement with the measurements.

Mechanistic-Empirical  (M-E)  pavement  design  procedures  are  composed  of  a  reliable  response model to estimate the state of stress in the pavement and distress models in order to predict the different types of pavement distresses due to the prevailing traffic and environmental conditions. One of the main objectives of this study was to develop a response model based on multilayer elastic  theory   (MLET)  with  improved  computational  performance  by   optimizing  the   time consuming parts of the MLET processes. A comprehensive comparison of the developed program with  two  widely  used  programs  demonstrated  excellent  agreement  and  improved  computational performance.  Moreover,  the  program  was  extended  to  incorporate  the  viscoelastic  behaviour  of bituminous materials through elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle. A procedure based on collocation of linear viscoelastic (LVE) solutions at selected key time durations was also proposed that improved the computational performance for LVE analysis of stationary and moving loads. A comparison  of  the  LVE  responses  with  measurements  from  accelerated  pavement  testing  (APT) revealed a good agreement. Furthermore the developed response model was employed to evaluate permanent deformation models  for  bound  and  unbound  granular  materials  (UGMs)  using  full  scale  APTs.  The  M-E Pavement  Design  Guide  (MEPDG)  model  for  UGMs  and  two  relatively  new  models  were evaluated  to  model  the  permanent  deformation  in  UGMs.  Moreover,  for  bound  materials,  the simplified  form  of  the  MEPDG  model  for  bituminous  bound  layers  was  also  evaluated.  The measured  and  predicted  permanent  deformations  were  in  general  in  good  agreement,  with  only small discrepancies between the models. Finally, as heavy traffic loading is one of the main factors affecting the performance of flexible pavement, three types of characterizations for heavy traffic axle load spectrum for M-E analysis and design of pavement structures were evaluated. The study recommended an improved approach that enhanced the accuracy and computational performance. 

Harvesting Energy stands alone as one of the most promising techniques for approaching the global energy problem without depleting natural resources. Energy harvesting technologies from road infrastructure is a new research territory that encompasses technologies that capture the wasted energy occurred at pavements, accumulate and store it for later use. Their most enticing characteristic is that they already offer extended paved surfaces. Paved surfaces with conductive pipes, PV sound barriers, nanomaterials or Phase Change Materials, piezosensors and thermoelectrical generators and induction heating technique are just the most updated representatives. Their outputs can be listed as production of electric energy and district heating and cooling, deicing surfaces or powering wireless networks and monitoring pavements conditions along with the enhancement of their self-healing process. The objective of this thesis is to review them and identify their strong and weak points. The three Green Roadway Concepts that shaped, proposed and implemented, theoretically are identical for the long- and short-term challenges that they meet. Their forthcoming future is here and only their in-situ implementation can prove their viability and prominence.

In this Study, the surface energy was investigated for six penetration grade

70/100 bitumen binders. Wilhelmy Plate and the Sessile Drop were used to

determine the contact angles.

The purpose of this study was to compare the Wilhelmy Plate method with the

Sessile Drop method, and to compare the significance of Owens-Wendt model

with the significance of Acid Base model by correlating surface energy

components. Better R2 –values were found for surface energy components by

using the Owens-Wendt model than by using the Acid Base model. It was

concluded here that Owens-Wendt model is a better model for determining

surface energy components of bituminous binders than the Acid Base model

since bituminous binders have low energy surfaces.

For both instruments: When using Diiodomethane as a probe liquid the biggest

variations among the binders were observed. When using water as a probe

liquid the least variations among the binders were observed.

The advancing contact angles for water determined for these six bitumen

binders using the Wilhelmy plate method do not exceed the 90 degree by

much, suggesting that bitumen is not extremely hydrophobic.

The Sessile Drop method offers a faster and more convenient way to measure

the surface energy components of bitumen binders than the Wilhelmy Plate

method.

A specific damage characterization method using Digital Image Correlation for semi-crystalline polymers is proposed for a wide range of strain rates. This damage measurement is an extension of the SEE method [16] which was developed to characterize the behaviour laws at constant strain rates of polymeric materials. This procedure is compared to the well-known damage characterization by loss of stiffness technique under quasi-static loading. In addition, an in-situ tensile test, carried out in a microtomograph, is used to observe the cavitation phenomenon in real time. The different ways used to evaluate the damage evolution are compared and the proposed technique is also suitable for measuring the ductile damage observed in semi-crystalline polymers under dynamic loading.

A non-associated viscoplastic model coupled with nonlocal damage under finite strain framework is developed to simulate the non-isochoric deformation and the damage process exhibiting strain-softening of a 20% mineral filled semi-crystalline polymer. The logarithmic spin tensor properties linking the Eulerian Hencky strain with the Cauchy stress is used thanks to hypoelasticity assuming the additive decomposition of the stretching into elastic and viscoplastic parts. The constitutive model with its nonlocal formulation is implemented in an efficient manner in a commercial implicit finite element code. The proposed model exhibits mesh-independent responses and is in agreement with strain evolution observed experimentally.

In this study, moisture susceptibility characteristics of wax modified bitumens and warm mix asphalt (WMA) mixtures are determined. The asphalt mixtures are prepared with 50170 penetration grade unmodified bitumen and modified bitumens with three different types of additives (Fischer Tropsch wax, montan wax and polyethylene wax) by weight of 6%. The moisture susceptibility characteristic of the four bitumens is determined with Sessile drop method and that for asphalt mixtures is determined with Nicholson stripping test on loose asphalt mixtures and Modified Lottman test on compacted asphalt mixtures. Furthermore, Marshall stability with different blow numbers of WMA mixtures are determined. The findings from all of these tests suggest that due to the Fischer Tropsch wax and montan wax modification the asphalt mixture become more moisture susceptible which correlates with the surface energy characterization. Interestingly, polyethylene wax modification shows positive moisture performance.

The use of a three-point bending beam (3PB) test was investigated to characterise hot mix asphalt (HMA) cracking behaviour. Fundamental HMA fracture properties, identified as tensile strength and fracture energy density at first fracture, were determined for six different asphalt mixtures (two natural and four SBS polymer modified) applying the HMA Fracture Mechanics framework. Full-field strain maps obtained from an in-house developed digital image correlation-based method were observed to better understand the crack initiation and propagation mechanisms in the 3PB specimen. The resulting fracture behaviour was predicted using a displacement discontinuity boundary element method to model the microstructure of the six asphalt mixtures and to predict their fracture properties. Both numerical and experimental results indicate that the fracture mechanism of asphalt mixtures can be properly described from 3PB test results when appropriate interpretation models are used.

Quality control and quality assurance of pavements is today primarily based on core samples. Air void content and pavement thickness are parameters that are evaluated. However, no parameter connected to the stiffness is evaluated. There is a need for fast and reliable test methods that are truly non-destructive in order to achieve an effective quality control and quality assurance of pavements. This licentiate thesis presents surface wave testing using air-coupled microphones as receivers. The measurements presented in this work are performed in order to move towards non-contact measurements of material stiffness. The non-contact measurements are compared to conventional accelerometer measurements in order to compare the noncontact measurements to a “reference test”. The two appended papers are focused on evaluating one parameter in each paper. In the first paper all equipment needed to perform non-contact measurements are mounted on a trolley in order to enable measurements while rolling the trolley forward. It is shown that rolling measurements can provide rapid and reliable measurements of the Rayleigh wave velocity over large areas. However, the measurements are shown to be sensitive to misalignments between the microphone array and the measured surface. An uneven surface can thus cause major errors in the calculated results. The second paper presents an alternative method to evaluate the thickness resonance frequency of a concrete plate. It is demonstrated how the established Impact Echo method can give erroneous results when aircoupled microphones are used as receivers. Instead a method based on backward wave propagation is introduced. It is demonstrated how waves with negative phase velocities can be identified in a narrow frequency span close to the thickness resonance.

Impact Echo is commonly used to determine thickness of concrete plate like structures. The method is based on the generation and detection of the plate thickness resonance frequency, where the group velocity of the first higher symmetric Lamb mode goes to zero (S1-ZGV). When using air-coupled microphones as receivers it is hard to determine the correct resonance frequency due to low signal to noise ratio. In this study multichannel signal processing is used to identify the S1-ZGV frequency, based on backward wave propagation instead of the conventional amplitude spectrum approach.

Low temperature cracking of asphalt pavements is associated to the thermal stresses created when asphalt binder changes from a ductile into a brittle state during cooling. Under repetitive traffic loads, this change of properties can become a significant problem, resulting in the formations of large cracks on the driving surface, thus requiring early pavement repair. Nevertheless, the conventional test methods for assessing low temperature properties of bitumen are often insufficient and subject to low reproducibility. Therefore, a reliable method is necessary to characterize the performance of bituminous binders at low temperature. This work presents the cyclic shear cooling failure test (CSC-failure test) as an alternative method based on a failure test with the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) at decreasing temperature until fracture occurs. Operational parameters, like shear strain amplitude or loading frequency, have been analysed in order to develop a reproducible procedure applicable for different types of bituminous binders. Moreover, a failure criterion has been defined by analysing the different characteristic temperatures from the failure curves obtained in the test.

Roads are assets to the society and an integral component in the development of a nation’s infrastructure. To build and maintain roads; considerable amounts of materials are required which consume quite an amount of electrical and thermal energy for production, processing and laying. The resources (materials and the sources of energy) should be utilized efficiently to avoid wastes and higher costs in terms of the currency and the environment.

In order to enable quantification of the potential environmental impacts due to the construction, maintenance and disposal of roads, an open life cycle assessment (LCA) framework for asphalt pavements was developed. Emphasis was given on the calculation and allocation of energy used for the binder and the additives. Asphalt mixtures properties can be enhanced against rutting and cracking by modifying the binder with additives. Even though the immediate benefits of using additives such as polymers and waxes to modify the binder properties are rather well documented, the effects of such modification over the lifetime of a road are seldom considered. A method for calculating energy allocation in additives was suggested. The different choices regarding both the framework design and the case specific system boundaries were done in cooperation with the asphalt industry and the construction companies in order to increase the relevance and the quality of the assessment.

Case-studies were performed to demonstrate the use of the LCA framework. The suggested LCA framework was demonstrated in a limited case study (A) of a typical Swedish asphalt pavement. Sensitivity analyses were also done to show the effect and the importance of the transport distances and the use of efficiently produced electricity mix. It was concluded that the asphalt production and materials transportation were the two most energy consuming processes that also emit the most GreenHouse Gases (GHG’s). The GHG’s, however, are largely depending on the fuel type and the electricity mix. It was also concluded that when progressing from LCA to its corresponding life cycle cost (LCC) the feedstock energy of the binder becomes highly relevant as the cost of the binder will be reflected in its alternative value as fuel. LCA studies can help to develop the long term perspective, linking performance to minimizing the overall energy consumption, use of resources and emissions. To demonstrate this, the newly developed open LCA framework was used for an unmodified and polymer modified asphalt pavement (Case study B). It was shown how polymer modification for improved performance affects the energy consumption and emissions during the life cycle of a road. From the case study (C) it was concluded that using bitumen with self-healing capacity can lead to a significant reduction in the GHG emissions and the energy usage.  Furthermore, it was concluded that better understanding of the binder would lead to better optimized pavement design and thereby to reduced energy consumption and emissions. Production energy limits for the wax and polymer were determined which can assist the additives manufacturers to modify their production procedures and help road authorities in setting ‘green’ limits to get a real benefit from the additives over the lifetime of a road.

Transport infrastructures such as roads are assets for the society as they not only ensure mobility but also strengthen society’s economy. Considerable amount of energy and materials, that include bitumen, aggregates and asphalt, are required to build and maintain roads. Improper utilization of energy and/or use of materials may lead to more waste and higher costs. The impact on the environment cannot be neglected either. Life cycle assessment (LCA) as a method can be used to assess the environmental impacts of a road system over its entire life time. Studying the life cycle perspective of roads can help us improve the technology in order to achieve a system that has a lower impact on the environment. There are number of LCA tools available. However, implementation of such tools is still unseen in real road projects. This clearly indicates that there are gaps which are needed to be filled in order to bring these tools into practice. An open road LCA framework was developed for the asphalt roads in order to help in decision support at the late project planning stage such as that related to the green procurement. The framework takes into account the construction, maintenance and end of life phases and focuses on energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Threshold values for the production of some additives were also determined to show how LCA tools can help material suppliers to improve the road materials production processes and the road authorities to set limits on the use of different materials based on the environmental criteria. Additive consideration and feedstock energy in road LCAs were also identified as gaps that were looked in detail. The attributes that are important to consider in an asphalt road LCA that seeks to serve as a decision support in a procurement situation are described.

A brief literature review was carried out that focused on project LCAs, and specifically those considering pavements, as this level is assumed to be appropriate for questions relevant in a procurement situation. Following the different standards; road LCAs developed all over the world have generated a lot of knowledge and the studies have been different from each other such as in terms of goals and system boundaries. Hence, the patterns observed have been very different from study to study. It was also difficult to assess the decision support level for which the various LCA frameworks or tools were developed. It is important to define system boundaries based on where in the system the decision support is needed. For LCA to be useful for decision support in a procurement situation, it is important to have a clear understanding of the attributes that constitute the life cycle phases and how data of high quality for them are obtained. The level of consistency and transparency of road LCAs becomes increasingly important in pre-procurement and procurement situations. The key attributes used in a road LCA should mirror the material properties used in a pavement design and therefore be closely linked to the performance of the road in its life cycle.

From the different case studies, it was found that asphalt production and transportation of materials are usually highest in the energy and GHG emissions chain. It is highly favorable to have the quarry site, the asphalt plant and the construction site not far from each other and to use the electricity that has been produced in an efficient way. Based on the laboratory test results, it is shown that the effects of chemical warm mix asphalt additives (WMAA)s must be evaluated on a case by case basis since WMAA interaction with the aggregate surface mineralogy appears to play a significant role and thus affects its long term structural behavior. Using the material properties obtained from the Superpave indirect tensile test (IDT) results, pavement thickness design was done in which Arlanda aggregate based asphalt mixtures resulted in thinner pavements as compared to Skärlunda aggregate based asphalt mixtures for the same design life period. Energy (feedstock and expended) saving and reduction in GHG emissions were also seen with addition of WMAA, for both aggregate type cases, based on the data used. Importantly, the results presented illustrate the importance of a systems based LCA approach for evaluating the sustainability for different design and construction options. In this context, having actual pavement material properties as the key attributes in the LCA enables a pavement focused assessment of environmental costs associated with different design options.

The current interest in energy saving asphalt production techniques is great and several new processes have been developed to reduce the mixing and compaction temperatures for hot mix asphalt. In particular, mastic asphalt products (Gussasphalt) require high working temperatures, and harder requirements concerning bitumen fumes and carbon dioxide emissions have been introduced for such products. Consequently, the need of a new means of producing and placing mastic asphalt at lower temperatures is particularly large.

One way of reducing asphalt mixture temperature is by using special flow improving additives like wax. This technique has successively been tried in several studies for polymer modified mastic asphalt used for bridge decks and parking areas in Sweden. However, there still are uncertainties about possible negative impact on crack susceptibility at lower temperatures due to the addition of wax.

In this study, 4% montan wax (Asphaltan A) was used for one particular polymer modified mastic asphalt product. Type and amount of wax additive was selected based on results from earlier studies. The impact on binder, binder/filler mixtures and mastic asphalt from production was tested in the laboratory, focusing on low temperature performance. The bending beam rheometer (BBR) was used for determining low temperature creep compliance and the tensile stress restrained specimen test (TSRST) for determining fracture temperatures. Binder properties were determined using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and conventional tests (softening point, penetration, elastic recovery, Fraass breaking point, viscosity and storage stability). Aging was performed using the rolling thin film oven test (RTFOT) at 200°C.

As expected, the addition of wax to the polymer modified binder showed a viscosity reduction at higher temperatures, corresponding to a similar positive effect of more than 10°C on production and laying temperature for the mastic asphalt. DMA and BBR results showed some increase in stiffness and a more elastic response of the wax modified binder at medium and low temperatures. The TSRST fracture temperature was 5 °C higher for the mastic asphalt containing 4% wax, indicating however no dramatic negative impact on crack susceptibility.

Number of life cycle assessment (LCA) tools has been suggested for pavements. However, very few have been adopted by the road authorities. Key reasons for this lack of implementation have been the tendency for very broad LCA analyses that include system boundaries considerably beyond the more natural system boundaries associated with road design, construction and maintenance as well as the lack of available LCA tools that have attributes that reflect key road properties. In this paper, a new attributesbased pavement LCA framework is evaluated for use on real road materials. Aggregates from two different sources and the effect of using a warm mix asphalt additive (WMAA) in asphalt mixtures were investigated in the laboratory. Different pavement design alternatives were generated using the laboratory data and analyzed using the road LCA framework. Asphalt production and material transportation were found to be the most energy consuming processes. The results presented showed that having actual pavement material properties as the key attributes in LCA enables a pavement focused assessment of environmental impacts associated with different design options and, LCA can help in decision support by evaluating environmental impacts of different design alternatives in a project planning/design stage.

Asphalt mixtures properties can be enhanced by modifying it with additives. Even though the immediatebenefits of using polymers and waxes to modify the binder properties are rather well documented, the effects of suchmodification over the lifetime of a road are seldom considered. To investigate this, a newly developed open technical lifecycle assessment (LCA) framework was used to determine production energy and emission limits for the asphaltadditives. The LCA framework is coupled to a calibrated mechanics based computational framework that predicts the intimepavement performance. Limits for production energy of wax and polymers were determined for the hypotheticalcase studies to show how LCA tools can assist the additives manufacturers to modify their production procedures andhelp road authorities in setting ‘green’ limits to get a real benefit from the additives over the lifetime of a road. From thedetailed case-studies, it was concluded that better understanding of materials will lead to enhanced pavement design andcould help in the overall reduction of energy usage and emissions.

It is of imminent urgency to optimize the lifetime of asphalt binders from the remaining available crude sources. This paper presents a recently developed model in which the self-healing capacity of bitumen is based on fundamental chemo-mechanical parameters. The implications of the enhanced bitumen healing rates are investigated by utilizing a newly developed Open Life Cycle Assessment framework. From the case study it was concluded that using bitumen with self-healing capacity can lead to a significant reduction in Greenhouse Gas emission and energy usage. Additionally, the importance of knowing the fuels and emission of bitumen modifiers on the highway sustainability was demonstrated.

Cracking is very common in areas having large variations in the daily temperatures and can cause large discomfort to the users. To improve the binder properties against cracking and rutting, researchers have studied for many years the behaviour of different binder additives such as polymers. It is quite complex, however, to decide on the benefits of a more expensive solution without looking at the long term performance. Life cycle assessment (LCA) studies can help to develop this long term perspective, linking performance to minimizing the overall energy consumption, use of resources and emissions. To demonstrate this, LCA of an unmodified and polymer modified asphalt pavement using a newly developed open LCA framework has been performed. It is shown how polymer modification for improved performance affects the energy consumption and emissions during the life cycle of a road. Furthermore, it is concluded that better understanding of the binder would lead to better optimized pavement design, hence reducing the energy consumption and emissions. A limit in terms of energy and emissions for the production of the polymer was also found which could help the polymer producers to improve their manufacturing processes, making them efficient enough to be beneficial from a pavement life cycle point of view.