Abstract
This article focused on quantifying environmental impact of asphalt pavement preservation at construction and use stage using life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Preservation treatments considered in the analysis include thin overlay, chip seal, and crack seal that are typically used by highway agencies. At construction stage, there are significant differences in emissions caused by various preservation treatments mainly due to different raw material components and manufacturing processes. At use stage, fuel consumptions vary significantly depending on tire rolling resistance that is affected by pavement surface characteristics. The Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions at the use stage were predicted using the Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) and pavement roughness models obtained from Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program. The results show that pavement preservation brings significant environmental benefit in reduction of CO2 emission due to the improved pavement surface condition despite the emission generated at construction stage. Thin overlay produces the highest life-cycle reduction in CO2 emission due to the large International Roughness Index (IRI) jump after treatment; while crack seal has the lowest reduction of CO2 emission. The optimum application timing of preservation treatment was determined for chip seal and thin overlay assuming one-time treatment applied before reaching the IRI threshold.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call