Fernando Moreno-Navarro

University of Granada | UGR · Departamento de Ingeniería de la Construcción y Proyectos de Ingeniería

Despite the efforts made during decades, pavement construction still uses essentially the same traditional model as that employed one hundred years ago. This makes road construction actions less efficient, thereby affecting the productivity and the possibilities of economic growth of the sector. To help establish a model based on the circular econo...

An adequate moisture resistance is a key element to guarantee the durability of asphalt materials. This paper identifies the influence of filler typology and bitumen content on the mechanical response of asphalt mortars before and after water action. Two fillers were evaluated: Portland cement and Calcium carbonate, along with different contents of...

Ageing phenomenon plays a key role on asphalt mixtures performance and durability, being susceptible to diverse designing factors that can be adjusted during both design and industrial manufacturing process. Thus, this paper focused on assessing the effect of main designing factors on the ageing rate of asphalt mixtures. It was evaluated the influe...

Under ballast mats (UBM) have demonstrated their capacity to reduce section stiffness and ballast degradation. However, UBM can cause ballast destabilisation under some circumstances due to excessive vertical track deflections, requiring the installation of geogrids over the mat which increases costs and time. As alternative to this solution, this...

This article focuses on the study and design of rail pads from recycled plastics for their application in railway tracks, aiming to reduce environmental impacts produced from virgin materials. For this purpose, sustainable rail pads were designed and manufactured using two separate locally recycled plastics: high-density polyethylene from plastic b...

This article studies the phenomenon of ageing in asphalt mixtures, considering the impact of temperature, time and pressure via laboratory techniques, compared with roadway samples. In particular, the ageing of two mixtures was analysed, manufactured with a high voids content and with two different modified binders (SBS polymer and crumb rubber), w...

For the full abatement of road construction emissions and the enhancement of green public procurement, the embodied environmental and social impacts of asphalt mixture typologies must be better understood. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to explore the environmental impact of five key asphalt mixtures classes (dense-graded, gap-graded, open-gr...

The inclusion of sensors in railway track components will permit the automated and real-time monitoring of track behaviour and traffic conditions; necessary for adopting preventive maintenance strategies. In this sense, this paper assesses the applicability of three different sensor types, commonly used for engineering applications, to be included...

The present paper focuses on an initial assessment into the applicability of sensored sustainable pads, made from recycled polymers and embedded with commonly-accessible piezoelectrics. These sensing devices were used as smart rail pads and inside bituminous sub-ballast to monitor traffic and track state by measuring the stress variations in the co...

Heavy snowfall is the most influential factor in the interruption of road vehicular transit during the winter months, sometimes even causing inaccessibility to certain areas. Traditional maintenance strategies address this issue with mechanical solutions combined with the implementation of “de-icing salts”. However, these “de-icing” salts can cause...

Asphalt materials modified with different types and dosages of magnetically responsive materials can emit patterns of magnetic signals easily detectable by magnetic field sensors. These patterns could be used to encode roads and improve infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V)/road-to-vehicle (R2V) communications. In this sense, this paper presents a labora...

The self-healing capacity of electroconductive asphalt materials can be enhanced by the use of induction heating. The highest enhancement of this self-healing capacity is produced in the early stages of the fatigue life of the material. During the early stages of the fatigue life, micro-cracks appear in the mastics/mortars that compose the asphalt...

The use of recycled Tire-Derived Aggregate (TDA) under railway sleepers has been demonstrated to be a sustainable and effective way to improve the durability and mechanical behaviour of ballasted train tracks. This solution enables the optimization of a track’s vertical performance, as different rubber quantities can be employed depending on track...

The aim of this paper was to analyze the mechanical behavior of various asphalt mixtures for application in pavements for ports, particularly with a view to developing and designing asphalt materials that could be used as an alternative to traditional concrete pavements in ports. The advantages of using such materials include a reduction in the tim...

Injecting recycled rubber particles under the sleeper through a two-step stoneblowing technique (partially replacing the small stones with rubber) could improve the performance of ballasted railway tracks. In addition, this results in fewer environmental impacts associated with maintenance whilst recycling an abundant waste material (End-of-Life-Ty...

Best poster award in the 8th Conference of the European Asphalt Technology Association

The reduction in consumption of natural resources (fuel, gas, etc.) and contaminant emissions (CO 2 , CO, NO x , etc.) during the production of asphalt mixtures has become one of the main challenges in road engineering. Warm mix asphalts (WMAs) have been developed in order to achieve this objective while ensuring the mechanical performance and dura...

The inclusion of rubber particles derived from end-of-life tyres (ELTs) under the sleepers has been demonstrated in previous studies to be a potential solution to improve the behaviour and durability of railway tracks, and then, minimizing the negative impacts associated with the need for maintenance. Nonetheless, more in-depth studies are still re...

The adaptation of pavements to autonomous vehicles has become one of the main challenges in the field of road engineering. These infrastructures must provide a safer and comfortable circulation whilst helping to guide the vehicles and provide information about the status of the road. In spite of the significant advances that have been made in auton...

Pavement rehabilitation will become the main activity in the road engineering sector in the majority of developed countries. Thus, large quantities of reclaimed asphalt pavements (RAP) will be generated and their reuse in asphalt mixtures would provide considerable economic and environmental benefits. To overcome the problems caused by using an exc...

The ageing phenomenon in asphalt mixtures is one of the most important factors affecting its service life. The current paper provides an overview of a number of studies related to the ageing process in bitumen, to determine the main component affecting this phenomenon. Moreover, a review is presented of the in-laboratory tests used to simulate the...

On behalf of EATA (European Asphalt Technology Association) 2019 Organizing Committee we are pleased to invite you to participate in the 8th EATA Conference being held from the 3rd to 5th of June 2019 at the University of Granada, Spain. The aim of this conference is to disseminate the advances in scientific knowledge related to asphalt materials a...

Graphene is considered to be a promising material for the development of the next generation of asphalt binders to be used in road engineering. Nonetheless, in spite of the potential advantages that graphene could add to bitumen, there are currently very few studies able to quantify its real contribution to the performance of existing binders. This...

In recent decades, warm mix asphalts have been proven to provide a series of benefits in the field of asphalt mixture production. However, to exploit these advantages it is essential that these materials present a mechanical performance and durability that is at least equivalent to traditional hot mix asphalts. The short-term mechanical behavior of...

Neoballast, consisting of natural aggregates coated with rubber particles from waste tires, is postulated as an alternative type of ballast that can show higher resistance to breakage and frictional wear. However, as this innovative material also aims to improve track performance and durability, its application could lead to variations in fundament...

Given the high costs associated with using polymer-modified bitumen in asphalt pavement for roads, this research set out to develop more competitive modifiers that are able to offer environmental advantages through incorporating waste polymers such as bitumen modifiers. For this purpose, the present study assessed the viability of using reclaimed g...

Recovery capability of bituminous materials plays a significant role in the development of new technologies for extending the service life of asphalt pavements. This capability originates from various phenomena such as thixotropy, cooling, relaxation of hardening, or healing. However, their real effect on mechanical response is not clear. This arti...

Description Get 14 peer-reviewed papers from the first-ever D18 symposium dedicated to the study of the properties and behavior of railroad ballast. Industry experts present their research on various best practices for field and laboratory ballast testing. Topics include

The present article shows some of the results obtained in several research projects carried out at the Laboratory of Construction Engineering of the University of Granada, whose main objective is to develop new materials to fulfil future needs in road infrastructures. It summarises part of the results obtained during the development of mechanomutab...

Bituminous mixtures are viscoelastic materials whose mechanical performance is highly influenced by temperature. In addition, during their service life, these types of materials suffer an ageing process that induces an increase in bitumen viscosity and therefore, a variation in the response of the mixture. The changes produced by these phenomena ar...

Despite its many advantages, ballasted track needs frequent maintenance to ensure an adequate quality of service. However, tamping, traditionally used to correct geometry, causes ballast degradation and loosening of the already compacted ballast layer, which quickly returns the track to its pre-maintenance position. Then, other maintenance techniqu...

The long-term advantages of using of polymer-modified binders are not commonly observable in traditional tests or pavement design methods. Because of this fact and for economic reasons, their application is limited to high traffic volume roads. This paper examined the structural behaviour of bituminous mixtures used in road surface layers (consider...

The long-term advantages of using of polymer-modified binders are not commonly observable in traditional tests or pavement design methods. Because of this fact and for economic reasons, their application is limited to high traffic volume roads. This paper examined the structural behaviour of bituminous mixtures used in road surface layers (consider...

Very Thin Asphalt Overlay (VTAO) has been introduced as an alternative to traditional thick overlays, seal coats, and micro-surfacings. Nonetheless, there are some challenges that still remain regarding the application of VTAOs (such as mixture type, cohesiveness, wear resistance, cracking and durability), particularly in heavy traffic urban areas....

The use of Half Warm Mixes with high Reclaimed Asphalt content (HWMRA) has the potential to generate significant environmental advantages such as the reduction in consumption of natural resources and the emission of gases into the atmosphere. This paper therefore focuses on demonstrating the viability of using these types of mixes in wearing course...

The modulus value of bituminous materials is a key factor in the design of road pavements and the estimation of their life service. This parameter can be measured in laboratory but, unfortunately, this requires the deterioration of the pavement so as the consumption of time and resources. Therefore, this study analyses the feasibility of using impa...

Hot bituminous mixtures are becoming widely used in modern railway tracks in the sub-ballast layer. The reason is that these materials allow for both an increase in bearing capacity and greater protection of the substructure respect the traditional granular sub-ballast. Despite these advantages, the fact that these materials are manufactured at a t...

Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA), manufactured at a lower temperature than the traditional Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA), allows for important economic and environmental benefits when considered for application in roads. Nonetheless, despite the benefits, its application in pavement for roads is not as widespread as desired from an environmental point of view; more...

Recently, the analysis of the healing capacity of bituminous materials has become an important research topic in pavement engineering. Although many studies have demonstrated the potential of some techniques (e.g. self-healing agents or induced healing) to recover the properties of these materials, there still remain some questions that need to be...

Mechanomutable asphalt binders are a new generation of smart materials, which are able to change their mechanical response to the load conditions suffered during their service life. These binders are composed of a bituminous matrix and iron micro-particles that can be activated with an external magnetic field, which induces mechanical changes in th...

The use of Under Sleeper Pads (USPs) and a process known as stoneblowing can be conceived as alternative maintenance solutions that aim to reduce the railway track degradation, and then the frequency of interventions, particularly in transition sections where differential settlements are more likely to occur. Based on these techniques, this paper p...

The use of end-of-life (EOL) tires is now widespread in civil engineering work. In most cases, the tires are shredded and recycled as crumb rubber. However, this research focuses on an alternate method in which EOL tires were deconstructed to manufacture rail pads. In other words, their outer layer was removed, which made it possible to benefit fro...

A traditional railway track is composed of rails, sleepers, fastenings (included rail pads), ballast, and a formation layer. More recently, other configurations have been commonly used in the track section in order to improve its quality and durability. However, the use of different configurations can lead to important changes in fundamental parame...

Crumb rubber modified binders are environmental-friendly alternatives to polymer modified bitumens in asphalt mixtures. This paper compares the performance of both types of binders with different modifier contents. Six binders were characterised by conventional tests and analysed using the UCL method. This method evaluates different properties of b...

Mechanomutable asphalt binders are able to modify their mechanical behavior when they are activated by a magnetic field. Under the effect of the magnetic field, these binders can increase their stiffness and perform elastically, and once the magnetic field is removed, the material recovers its original visco-elastic properties. Because of this fact...

http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1SnR13O1E14rAn Fatigue cracking constitutes one of the main distresses responsible for the decline in the service life of asphalt pavements. The study of fatigue phenomena is therefore a field of research that has become crucially important for enhancing the durability of these structures. In spite of the advances ach...

Asphalt pavement properties (strength, durability, bearing capacity, etc.) are considerably affected by environmental conditions. Because of this fact, regions with severe climates (high thermal gradients, abundant precipitation, presence of freeze-thaw cycles, solar radiation, etc.) have serious problems in maintaining the functional integrity of...

Bituminous sub-ballast is becoming a common solution in railway tracks since this layer allows for the increase in bearing capacity and at the same time higher substructure protection (lower permeability and greater capacity to dissipate stress) is obtained compared with the conventional solution of granular sub-ballast. However, the application of...

Railroads have played a significant role in the development of modern society, particularly during recent decades. In order to ensure that these structures provide an adequate quality of service, maintenance works are needed. In spite of the fact that ballast tamping is the most common maintenance task carried out on railway tracks, its application...

Roads play a significant role in the development of societies. Considerable quantities of asphalt mixes are employed in their construction, with hot asphalt mix (HMA) technology being one of the most commonly used worldwide. In recent times, the development of sustainable technologies has become a priority for most governments, and to this end, war...

The use of modified binders plays a very important role in the construction of more durable pavements. However, the addition of modifiers to the binders could considerably increase their cost, making these materials less competitive. Thus, in recent years, various research studies have been carried out to obtain new modified binders that could lead...

In spite of the fact that many studies have been carried out to improve the understanding of fatigue cracking in bituminous materials, there are still some aspects that should be clarified and which prevent an accurate analysis. During cyclic loading, fatigue damage co-exist with other phenomena (plastic deformations, thixotropy, heating, etc.) tha...

Bituminous mixtures are visco-elastic materials whose mechanical performance is highly influenced by temperature. In addition, during their service life, these type of materials suffer an ageing process which induce an increase in bitumen viscosity and therefore, a variation in the response of the mixture. The changes produced by these phenomena ar...

Bitumen ageing plays a significant role in determining the resistance of asphalt mixes to fatigue cracking. Regardless of the type of ageing (oxidation during manufacture or during the service life), hardening effects increase the risk of cracking. The objective of this work is to examine the combined effect of the loss of volatiles and oxidation p...

In recent decades, several studies have demonstrated the healing capability of bituminous materials, and this property is recognized as an important asset for the development of sustainable road pavements. This paper presents a comprehensive summary of various studies concerning healing capability of bituminous materials in order to arrange the rel...

The reutilization of waste generated by industrial processes has become a majorenvironmental objective in scientific and technical research. In the construction sector, there is a broad range of techniques for the exploitation of different types of waste, which can then be used as a replacement for raw materials. This paper presents the results of...

La fisuración por fatiga es uno de los modos de fallo más comunes en pavimentos asfálticos, y por tanto, está considerada como una de las principales preocupaciones en el sector de la ingeniería de carreteras. A pesar de que en los últimos años se han conseguido grandes avances en la comprensión de este fenómeno, actualmente aún existen ciertos asp...

Durante los últimos años, son muchos los estudios que están siendo llevados a cabo en torno al análisis de la capacidad auto-reparadora de las mezclas bituminosas y de nuevas técnicas para inducirla (calentamiento, micro-cápsulas, etc.), existiendo actualmente cierta controversia sobre la verdadera capacidad para recuperar el daño producido en esto...

El comportamiento mecánico de los pavimentos asfálticos está altamente afectado por las condiciones ambientales sufridas durante su vida de servicio. Así, las regiones sometidas a climas extremos (grandes gradientes térmicos, precipitaciones abundantes, presencia de ciclo de hielo/deshielo, alta exposición a la radiación solar, etc.) tienen serios...

A new generation of asphalt binders with mecanomutable properties has been developed, with the aim of obtaining smart materials able to adapt their mechanical performance to the real changing load conditions that occur during their service life. These materials are composed of a bituminous matrix that has been modified with magnetic particles that...

The use of tire crumb rubber in road engineering as a modifier of bituminous mixes constitutes one of the revalorization techniques for this waste. The main objective of this research consists of analysing the possible fatigue cracking improvements in the performance of bituminous mixtures containing crumb rubber in comparison to bituminous mixture...

Fatigue cracking is considered to be one of the main pathologies in asphalt pavements, contributing to the reduction of its service life and generating high costs as a consequence of more maintenance works. Because of the importance of road quality in society's economic development, techniques to avoid and reduce the adverse effects derived from cr...

This paper shows the results obtained in a research project that analyzes the mechanical performance of asphalt concrete containing waste glass as a substitute of part of the aggregate. The mechanical performance of an AC16S asphalt mix with different percentages of glass (0%, 8% and 15%) and different types of filler was assessed with the moisture...

Asphalt pavements are very susceptible to the effects of temperature, and their mechanical performance is affected by the climatological conditions to which they are exposed. Polymer-modified binders have been developed in order to reduce the impact of temperature on these infrastructures. Although these binders allow for a more stable response and...

Asphalt mixtures are composed by a mass of aggregates (more than 90% of their total weight), which are bonded by a bituminous binder. Despite the fact that the binder is not the main component of these materials (around 5% of their total weight), it exerts a high influence on their mechanical response. In this sense, the service life of asphalt pav...

Climatic actions such as rain, sun or ice are one of the major contributors in asphalt pavement degradation. The effect of these climatic agents can be a long-term process of asphalt mixture deterioration when long rainy or sunny periods are expected as well as a series of freeze-thaw cycles due to wide range of temperature. However, laboratory stu...

Ballasted tracks are commonly used in railway transportation because of a series of advantages such as its elasticity, permeability and ease to be repaired by maintenance tasks. However, the repeated passage of trains leads to the degradation of ballast particles and the layer settlement, generating important lost in the geometry and quality of the...

The rehabilitation of deteriorated pavements has become one of the main concerns in road engineering. Thus, the development of more resistant bituminous mixtures to be used as surface layers is a priority for the sector. Gap graded bituminous mixtures manufactured with modified binders at high dosages have been used with satisfactory results. Never...

In recent years, many studies have assessed how the healing phenomenon could recover the stiffness or the strength of bituminous materials. Nevertheless, some factors that appear during these studies have opened up a debate about whether a recovery of the damage actually occurs, and whether this recovery is lasting. This study attempts to provide a...

Railway is envisaged as the transportation mode of the future, but in spite of its advantages, its development is not exempt from technical difficulties that lead to track deterioration. To overcome these drawbacks, research in this field needs to be developed. Geometry degradation, as well as noise and vibration, have been identified as problems t...

Rail pads for high-speed railways are commonly manufactured from elastomeric materials such as rubber, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPE) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). In the search for a more sustainable material, this research analyzes the viability of using rail pads obtained from the outer layer of use...

The high stiffness provided by high modulus asphalt mixes significantly decreases the loads transmitted by the traffic to the road foundation whilst at the same time increases their resistance against plastic deformations. Thus, the use of these types of mixtures can be an effective solution in road construction, due to the fact that they can reduc...

The use of crumb rubber modified bitumen (CRMB) in asphalt mixes is a road engineering technology that has become increasingly important in recent years. Given the many economic and environmental benefits of this type of binder, the goal is to give CRMB the same level of performance as conventional polymer-modified bitumen. The appearance and propa...

This research study focused on the design of under sleeper pads made from deconstructed end-of-life tires. The rubber was obtained without grinding up the tires. This cost-effective process has a lower environmental impact and at the same time preserves the mechanical characteristics of the material. The analysis was focused on how certain design p...

Elastic elements such as rail pads, under sleeper pads and under ballast mats are railway components that allow for a reduction in track deterioration and vibrations. And they are furthermore commonly used to obtain an optimal vertical stiffness of the infrastructure. However, the use of elastomeric materials can increase construction costs and the...

The use of crumb rubber modified bitumen (CRMB) in asphalt mixes is a road engineering technology that has become increasingly important in recent years. Given the many economic and environmental benefits of this type of binder, the goal is to give CRMB the same level of performance as conventional polymer-modified bitumen. The appearance and propa...