Papers by Christina Plati
Road and Rail Infrastructure VII
Green-House Gases (GHGs) are emitted into the atmosphere in significant amounts produced mainly b... more Green-House Gases (GHGs) are emitted into the atmosphere in significant amounts produced mainly by human sources and activities. Globally, the road transport sector is a significant source of GHGs and particularly of CO2 emissions. Transport sector includes pavements and pavement roughness is a factor that directly affects fuel consumption and consequently has a significant impact on vehicle emissions. Many studies have attempted to define the connection between pavement roughness in terms of International Roughness Index (IRI) and fuel consumption, under the scope of pavement sustainability. However, the requirements of multiple parameters and extensive data processing have raised the need for solid and simplified approaches in practice. As such, the objective of the current study is to incorporate the assessment of vehicle emissions into pavement management processes by formulating a simple and credible relationship between vehicle GHGs and pavement roughness. Analysed data comes ...
Infrastructures
Modern roadways provide road users with a comfortable and safe ride to their destinations. Due to... more Modern roadways provide road users with a comfortable and safe ride to their destinations. Due to increasing traffic demands and maximum allowable loads, road authorities should also pay attention to the structural soundness of road pavements while seeking cost-effective and timely maintenance or minor rehabilitation activities. This means that a sustainable pavement preservation strategy is needed that includes an optimal pavement condition assessment to support the appropriate decision-making processes. To address this need, this research study proposes an approach to integrate Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) data and ground truth data to predict the long-term performance of flexible pavements. Appropriate mechanistic models that take into account the nature of Asphalt Concrete (AC) materials are used for the analysis to increase the accuracy of the results when it comes to protecting and extending pavement life. The results indicated that examining viscoelastic behavior for AC appe...
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, May 1, 2014
This work aims at presenting the main results achieved by Working Group (WG) 2 "GPR surveyin... more This work aims at presenting the main results achieved by Working Group (WG) 2 "GPR surveying of pavements, bridges, tunnels and buildings; underground utility and void sensing" of the COST (European COoperation in Science and Technology) Action TU1208 "Civil Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar" (www.GPRadar.eu, www.cost.eu). The principal goal of the Action, started in April 2013 and ending in October 2017, is to exchange and increase scientific-technical knowledge and experience of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) techniques in civil engineering, whilst promoting throughout Europe the effective use of this safe non-destructive technique. The Action involves more than 300 Members from 28 COST Countries, a Cooperating State, 6 Near Neighbour Countries and 6 International Partner Countries.
International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 2020
Road safety is connected with pavement skid resistance which often triggers pavement maintenance ... more Road safety is connected with pavement skid resistance which often triggers pavement maintenance issues. So far, many laboratory studies have been conducted trying to find a link between skid resistance and macrotexture. However, the findings cannot be extrapolated always in the field because of the multi-parametric nature of skid resistance. This triggered the present study that aims to identify key aspects of skid resistance and its main textural components, macro and microtexture. The goal is twofold: to present and assess the effect of seasonal variation on a long-term basis focusing mainly on Mediterranean climate zone and illustrate the cumulative traffic effect on skid resistance and macrotexture in the field, while paying attention to the key-role of microtexture. Study findings showed that under the effect of cumulative traffic, macrotexture and skid resistance start presenting an inverse trend. This trend seems to be related to the equilibrium phase of skid resistance performance, after which seasonal variation becomes less pronounced. In addition, the cumulative traffic in conjunction with weather variations are proved to be critical for the microtexture component. Ultimately, the study findings demonstrated the necessary awareness of constraints in using only macrotexture data to develop models for predicting field skid resistance levels.
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2019
Pavement skid resistance is influenced by both pavement macrotexture and microtexture, with the t... more Pavement skid resistance is influenced by both pavement macrotexture and microtexture, with the two components providing the skid resistance properties required to assist in ensuring road safety. In addition to these factors the cumulative traffic along a pavement is a known determinant factor influencing pavement surface characteristics leading to deterioration. However, previous research efforts in this area have been evaluated based on laboratory experiments that have not proven to be easily extrapolated to represent field conditions. With this in mind, the present study aims to investigate and comprehend the long-term effect of cumulative traffic on both skid resistance and macrotexture evolution based on actual field measurements. The ultimate research goal is to develop a practical approach for analysis and interpretation of in-situ performance characteristics that could be utilized by road agencies in evaluating long-term skid resistance performance. For the investigation, an...
Nondestructive Testing of Materials and Structures, 2011
The pavement structural condition is one of the main factors to be taken into account for pavemen... more The pavement structural condition is one of the main factors to be taken into account for pavement maintenance planning. Therefore, more efficient methods for pavement monitoring and structural evaluation are required in order to ensure a good serviceability and to provide adequate maintenance solutions for the pavements. Non destructive testing (NDT) provides ideal means to test pavement structure in rapid and convenient manner, without traffic disruption and without causing any damages to the existing pavement structure. On this basis, over the past few years, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technology has led to a powerful NDT technique that features several major advantages. GPR has been used successfully in a variety of pavements application such as determining layer thickness, detecting subsurface distresses, estimating moisture content, detecting voids and others. In GPR process an important parameter is the dielectric properties of road materials. This paper investigates the feasibility of GPR use in pavement assessment taking into account the sensitivity of the related results due to the variability of the materials dielectric properties.
Airfield and Highway Pavements 2019, 2019
Recycling
One of the challenges of using recycled materials in road structures is to maintain safe and dura... more One of the challenges of using recycled materials in road structures is to maintain safe and durable pavements. A multitude of research has been conducted over the years on various recycled materials, with a focus on the structural performance of pavements. Another crucial, but almost overlooked, aspect is the pavement’s ability to provide adequate skid resistance for road users under different climatic conditions. With this in mind, the present study aimed to investigate the skid resistance of asphalt mixtures containing two different types of recycled materials under laboratory-simulated weather conditions. Conventional hot-mix asphalt (HMA) and mixtures containing either reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) for aggregate replacement or crumb rubber (CR) as a bitumen additive were prepared and tested at different temperatures and different surface conditions (i.e., dry/wet) following a wetting protocol. Skid resistance was measured using a British Pendulum Tester (BPT). The results sh...
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering
Road Materials and Pavement Design
This study investigates the effect of field and laboratory roller compaction methods on the micro... more This study investigates the effect of field and laboratory roller compaction methods on the microstructure of asphalt mixtures. Loose material of varying hot mix asphalt (HMA) types was compacted in the laboratory using the steel-segmented roller compactor. Multiple compaction regimes were implemented by adjusting the compaction effort, temperature and mode. The internal structure of the laboratory roller compacted specimens was characterised in terms of the aggregate contact points, orientation and segregation by means of two-dimensional image analysis. The investigation in the laboratory demonstrated that the dominant parameters controlling the formation of the asphalt mixture microstructure are the compaction temperature and effort. In addition, the comparative evaluation of the field cores and laboratory compacted specimens revealed that the laboratory roller compaction method reproduces the microstructure induced by the field compaction. To conclude several laboratory compaction regimes may be established to closely duplicate the internal structure characteristics of field cores.
Abstract- The present paper deals with a view of the availability of high-speed sensor profilers,... more Abstract- The present paper deals with a view of the availability of high-speed sensor profilers, which has given dramatically increased possibilities to analyze imperfections in pavement surfaces such as roughness. Technical parameters of such profilers, for sensing and analyzing pavement surface profile are described. In addition, the main investigation concentrates on the evolutional process of pavement roughness evaluation. For this purpose a high-speed laser profiler is used to sense roughness data on the surface of a road section that is analyzed both using the International Roughness Index (IRI) and the Power Spectral Density (PSD) approach. Based on the analysis results, some interesting options are shown considering pavement performance in terms of roughness.
Infrastructures
Maintenance interventions and rehabilitation actions in airfield pavements are time-consuming and... more Maintenance interventions and rehabilitation actions in airfield pavements are time-consuming and adversely affect pavements’ serviceability (i.e., airport closures), with a profound impact on the airport economics. Once a pavement is constructed, a robust asset management prerequisites systematic and accurate knowledge of pavement condition throughout its service life. Evaluating a pavement’s structural capacity in the field involves the integration of multiple Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) systems, with the Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) being the most indicative NDT system for pavement evaluation. The purpose of the present study is to develop a methodology for the assessment of airfield concrete pavements. A new and non-trafficked Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP), facing early-life cracks shortly after a runway’s expansion activities, was utilized for the investigation. Multiple types of data collected in the field, including deflections, load transfer efficiency at jo...
2018 41st International Conference on Telecommunications and Signal Processing (TSP), 2018
The present study investigates the impact of antenna frequency on the determination of in-situ mo... more The present study investigates the impact of antenna frequency on the determination of in-situ moisture within the asphalt pavement layers using GPR. According to the international experience, the electric permittivity of the asphalt layer has been related with the moisture content of the asphalt material. This relationship is used to assess the moisture content in the asphalt pavement layer of a highway section utilizing a GPR system. The system was operated with two antennae, of 1 and 2 GHz central frequency. The GPR data were analyzed to define the electric permittivity as a variable of the moisture content of the asphalt material. A comparative analysis is applied focusing on the differences between the 1 and 2 GHz readings in terms of electric permittivity values that are used for the calculation of moisture content. The related findings suggests that there is the need to develop a standardized procedure to assess the asphalt material moisture with GPR defining, amongst others,...
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 2021
Highway pavements are usually monitored in terms of their surface performance assessment, since t... more Highway pavements are usually monitored in terms of their surface performance assessment, since the major cause that triggers maintenance is reduced pavement serviceability due to surface distresses, excessive pavement unevenness and/or texture loss. A common way to detect pavement surface condition is by the use of vehicle-mounted laser sensors that can rapidly scan huge roadway networks at traffic speeds without the need for traffic interventions. However, excessive roughness might sometimes indicate structural issues within one or more pavement layers or even issues within the pavement foundation support. The stand-alone use of laser profilers cannot provide the related agencies with information on what leads to roughness issues. Contrariwise, the integration of multiple non-destructive data leads to a more representative assessment of pavement condition and enables a more rational pavement management and decision-making. This research deals with an integration approach that prim...
Uploads
Papers by Christina Plati