The construction of sustainable road infrastructures has become an issue of concern to the international community. Road infrastructures require a large amount of non-renewable resources during the construction phase while containing abundant renewable energy resources (e.g. vehicle mechanical energy, internal thermal energy, and surface solar energy) during the operational phase. Therefore, reducing the dependence of road infrastructures on non-renewable resources, upgrading the construction and maintenance levels, improving the recycling level of infrastructure materials, and efficiently harvesting and utilizing clean energy from sustainable road infrastructures are of great significance in alleviating energy problems and promoting sustainable social development.
To reduce the dependence of road infrastructures on non-renewable energy, improve the construction and maintenance levels as well as efficiently utilize the renewable energy associated with road infrastructures, a significant amount of relevant research work has been conducted by scholars. For instance, employing bio-based materials as recycled binders instead of traditional petroleum-based materials, developing long-life asphalt pavements to replace traditional pavements, improving the management and maintenance level of road infrastructures by intelligent perception and monitoring, enhancing the recycling efficiency of infrastructure materials through process and equipment optimization, and harvesting clean renewable energy from road infrastructures by adopting piezoelectric, thermoelectric, and photovoltaic technologies. The feasibility of the aforementioned research has been thoroughly confirmed. However, practical engineering applications are still some distance away due to research being in the initial stage, ongoing efforts to overcome technical difficulties and bottlenecks, and the establishment of comprehensive theoretical and design systems.
This Research Topic aims to bring together research related to the harvesting and utilization of renewable energy in the field of sustainable road infrastructures. The following areas will be covered:
• Design and application technologies of sustainable road infrastructure materials, including but not limited to the design and application technology of polymer-based road infrastructure materials, the research and application of rejuvenating agents, the materials technology for improving the recycling rate of infrastructure waste, and the materials design and application technology of sensing devices for the performance monitoring of road infrastructures.
• Energy harvesting and green conversion technologies for road infrastructures, including but not limited to piezoelectric energy harvesting technology, thermoelectric energy harvesting technology, photovoltaic pavement energy harvesting technology, theoretical models of energy harvesting, and energy green conversion technology.
• Evaluation methods and key technologies of sustainable road infrastructures, including but not limited to advanced theories and methods of road infrastructure life cycle energy consumption assessment and life cycle cost analysis.
The construction of sustainable road infrastructures has become an issue of concern to the international community. Road infrastructures require a large amount of non-renewable resources during the construction phase while containing abundant renewable energy resources (e.g. vehicle mechanical energy, internal thermal energy, and surface solar energy) during the operational phase. Therefore, reducing the dependence of road infrastructures on non-renewable resources, upgrading the construction and maintenance levels, improving the recycling level of infrastructure materials, and efficiently harvesting and utilizing clean energy from sustainable road infrastructures are of great significance in alleviating energy problems and promoting sustainable social development.
To reduce the dependence of road infrastructures on non-renewable energy, improve the construction and maintenance levels as well as efficiently utilize the renewable energy associated with road infrastructures, a significant amount of relevant research work has been conducted by scholars. For instance, employing bio-based materials as recycled binders instead of traditional petroleum-based materials, developing long-life asphalt pavements to replace traditional pavements, improving the management and maintenance level of road infrastructures by intelligent perception and monitoring, enhancing the recycling efficiency of infrastructure materials through process and equipment optimization, and harvesting clean renewable energy from road infrastructures by adopting piezoelectric, thermoelectric, and photovoltaic technologies. The feasibility of the aforementioned research has been thoroughly confirmed. However, practical engineering applications are still some distance away due to research being in the initial stage, ongoing efforts to overcome technical difficulties and bottlenecks, and the establishment of comprehensive theoretical and design systems.
This Research Topic aims to bring together research related to the harvesting and utilization of renewable energy in the field of sustainable road infrastructures. The following areas will be covered:
• Design and application technologies of sustainable road infrastructure materials, including but not limited to the design and application technology of polymer-based road infrastructure materials, the research and application of rejuvenating agents, the materials technology for improving the recycling rate of infrastructure waste, and the materials design and application technology of sensing devices for the performance monitoring of road infrastructures.
• Energy harvesting and green conversion technologies for road infrastructures, including but not limited to piezoelectric energy harvesting technology, thermoelectric energy harvesting technology, photovoltaic pavement energy harvesting technology, theoretical models of energy harvesting, and energy green conversion technology.
• Evaluation methods and key technologies of sustainable road infrastructures, including but not limited to advanced theories and methods of road infrastructure life cycle energy consumption assessment and life cycle cost analysis.
